Under The Skin
by meathead
Summary: The Turtles wake up one morning and find they have become human. The guys work quickly to piece together the strange events of their disappearance, but soon find they are slowly forgetting who they are.
1. Chapter One: A Rude Awakening

Disclaimer I do not own the TMNT, or any other related characters, except my own, yada yada yada...

A/N: Now, I know the whole turning the turtles human thing has been done before, and for the most part, it doesn't seem to sell. But I had a really interesting dream about the story I am about to embark on, and I'm hoping that my take on it hasn't been done before, and if it has, just let me know and I will cease and desist. ( There are too many stories to go through to find evidence of this!) Also, this is going along the lines of the new cartoon series. So please, sit back and enjoy !

* * *

Chapter One: A Rude Awakening 

_A veil of darkness...Voices...whispers..._

Do not fear, my friends. I'm here to help you.

_Where are those lights coming from? They're burning through my forced-opened retinas..._

You are truly remarkable!Simply amazing!

_What is that noise? It sounds like a drill or something. The pressure on my temples is increasing._

Do not fear. I'm going to give you what you really want! I'm going to give you a new life!

_It's dark again...the pain is unbearable..._

Leonardo sat upright suddenly in his bed, beads of sweat dripping down his face. He squeezed his eyes together, feeling his heart race inside of his head. His nightmare had been horrible, and he could still hear the whirring noise vibrating in his ears. Leonardo shook his head as he swung his feet to the cold bare floor and he lowered his face into his open palms.

"It felt so _real_," He whispered into his dark room. It was then that he noticed something wasn't right.

As Leonardo kept his hands to his face, he realized his skin felt different, as did the shape of his face. He slowly moved his finger tips around the set of high cheek bones, the firm chin, and the full bottom lip that sat in-between the two.

"This can't be happening!" Leonardo whispered again. He then took a deep breath as his fingers slid upward, and when he reached the hairline above his forehead, Leonardo gasped and jumped, falling out of his bed and onto the cold floor. He quickly pushed himself up to a sitting position and braced himself as he drew up his hands to eye level.

" There is no way this...is...real..." Leonardo's eyes grew, seeing not six, large green fingers, but instead he saw ten, long pink ones, and just to make sure he wasn't still dreaming, he give the signal for his brain to wiggle them, and they did just that.

"No!" Leonardo jumped to his feet, and ran to the doorway of his bedroom. He flipped on the light switch, then ran to his make-shift bookshelf where a few of his many candles sat in front of a broken mirror, and he stared in complete disbelief at his reflection.

"No! This isn't real! This is not happening!" He said as he stared into his large brown eyes. Leonardo then ran his hands back over the short black hair that now sat on his head, and his heart rate jumped back up. He then forced his eyes down his body, going over his slightly tanned arms, his wash-board stomach, and right down to the tips of ten toes. And just to make double sure he wasn't dreaming, he wiggled them as well.

"I don't believe it. I'm..._human_!" Leonardo looked back into his face and again touched his chiseled facial features. A chill passed through him, and Leonardo then also realized that not only was he human, but a naked one, and he quickly wrapped his bed sheet around his waist, then went back to his mirror.

"Wait a minute," Leonardo looked around his bedroom. " How did I end up here? I wasn't home. We were out on patrol, and-" Leonardo felt a sheering pain cut across his temples, and his memories disappeared.

"WHAT THE SHELL?"

Leonardo turned toward his door as Raphael's voice echoed across the quiet lair, and it was quickly followed by Michelangelo's well known high-pitched shriek. Leonardo dashed to the platform that circled around the top level of their underground lair, and his eyes first met with Michelangelo.

"Leo? Is that you?"

Leonardo stared at the shaggy dark blonde hair that sat upon his youngest brother head, noting the fear and confusion that weighed heavily in his eyes.

" What's going on? What happened?" Michelangelo also had his bed sheet wrapped around him, and he pulled it closer around his shoulders. "Why are we like this?"

"That's what I wanna know!"

Leonardo looked around and found Raphael. The light from his room bounced off his shoulder length auburn hair, and like Leonardo, Raphael had placed his bed sheet around his waist, and he held it tightly in his right hand.

"Okay, this officially means I'm not dreaming." Leonardo said to himself with an added sigh. Raphael walked around to meet up with his brothers, and the three of them could do nothing but look at each other in confusion.

"Wait! Where's Donnie?" Michelangelo turned and shuffled the ends of the sheet as he quickly moved into Donatello's bedroom. Raphael flipped on the light switch, and they found their missing brother sleeping soundly, tucked under his comforter and his pillow over his head.

"How did your girly screamin' not wake him up, Mikey?" Raphael folded his arms over chest as he leaned against the doorframe.

Michelangelo shrugged his shoulders under the sheet. " I guess he's used to it!"

Leonardo knelt down next to Donatello's head and held his breath as he slowly lifted the pillow, and he peeked at the dark brown hair that laid under it. Donatello then moaned and turned over onto his back, and the pillow hit the floor. His brothers watched intently as he yawned, and his brothers tensed as his left hand went to scratch the top of his head. After Donatello settled back down, Leonardo softly tapped his shoulder.

"Donnie, wake up." Leonardo whispered.

Donatello stirred again and mumbled. " I told you, I'll fix it in the morning."

Raphael sighed heavily, then walked over and shook Donatello's shoulder. " Get up!"

Donatello growled, then yawned as he sluggishly sat upright. He rubbed the sleep out of his eyes, then stretched his arms into the air, and as he brought them back down, his hazel eyes slowly flickered open.

"What the-" Donatello slammed his bare back into the wall behind him as his vision came into focus. " Who are you? How did you get in here?"

"It's _us,_ Einstein!" Raphael said as he looked around for a reflected surface, finally settling for the back of a computer CD. " Look!"

Donatello stared wide-eyed at Raphael's human hand as the CD was shoved in his face, and he moved his own hand up slowly, aiming his forefinger for the center hole.

"I need to stop staring at that computer screen so late at night." Donatello joked as he brought the disc to his face. " I'm starting to see...things..." He blinked several times at the short dark brown hair on his head and he ran his fingers across the bridge of his modest nose. He met with Leonardo's eyes, and all of the questions he had reflected back.

" What is going on?"

Leonardo sighed. " I was hoping you would know."

Donatello looked back at his reflection in the CD. " I don't see how this could happen!"

"Uh, Donnie?" Michelangelo pointed to the bed as he turned his eyes away. " You might wanna cover that thing up."

"What?" Donatello looked down at his lap, then quickly pulled his comforter around his waist as his cheeks flushed in embarrassment. "Sorry."

The sound of a sliding doors echoed up from below them, and they looked toward the doorway as the downstairs lights flickered on.

"Master Splinter is awake." Leonardo stated.

"What are we gonna do?" Michelangelo panicked. " We can't go down there like this!"

"Well we can't stay up here forever either, Mikey." Raphael moved to the doorway and looked down. "Sooner or later, he's gonna come up here when he notices we ain't down there for our mornin' practice."

Leonardo stood up then joined Raphael at the doorway, and after sharing a terrified look with his brother, Leonardo led them down the metal staircase to the lower level of their home.

Splinter had seated himself in a lotus position just below the steps of his bedroom, waiting for his sons to appear so they could begin their morning mediation and ninja practice. As he inhaled another relaxing breathe, his nose caught the scent of something usual, and as he opened his eyes, Splinter gasped at the four teenage human boys clad in bed sheets that stood in front of him. The black haired one that stood in front of the others spoke first.

"Master Splinter, I-"

Leonardo then found himself slammed to the ground, and the angry eyes of his father stared him down.

" How dare you break into my home!" Splinter pushed his walking stick harder against Leonardo's chest. " How did you find this place?"

"Sensi, please!" Leonardo grabbed the ends of the stick, trying the relieve the pressure that was crushing his rib cage. " It's me, Leonardo!"

Splinter at once recognized the voice of his pupil, and he slowly released his walking stick. "Leonardo?" He stared into his sons' brown eyes, and was still not sure if his own old eyes were playing tricks on him. He stood back up and watched as the three other humans pulled Leonardo to his feet.

" It really is us, sensi! Sort of!"

Splinter turned to the blonde one, knowing it was Michelangelo's voice he had just heard.

He studied the other two, knowing at once from the expressions on their faces they were Donatello and Raphael.

" My sons," Splinter began, his voice still laced with disbelief. "This is a great shock. I had feared the worst, and while I am grateful all of you are alive, I did not expect this."

"The worst?" Raphael repeated.

"Yes," Splinter bowed his head down. " I was afraid you had all perished somehow."

The four exchanged glances, feeling more confused with each passing minute, and Splinter realized his sons had no clue as to what he was talking about.

"The night I had sent the four of you to the surface for a training run, all of you disappeared without a trace. I searched tirelessly for you, but I found nothing." He paused, and what the rat said next stunned the former mutants.

" All of this happened three months ago."


	2. Chapter Two: Human Accessories

A/N: There are a few references to a show called Oz that used to air on HBO. For those of you who haven't seen it, it was mainly about the gritty prison life. Really good drama! Watch it if you ever get the chance!

* * *

Chapter Two: Human Accessories

"I just don't see how this could happen! It's genetically impossible!"

Donatello stopped and turned, then continued pacing the space in front of the blue couch. Michelangelo sat cross-legged on the couch, still huddled under his bed sheet, and his eyes were glued to the Game Guy in his hands. Raphael sat next to his younger brother and let out an annoyed growl every time Donatello got between him and the many television screens. He pushed the volume button on the remote, increasing the sound so he could block out his brother's scientific babbling. Leonardo and Splinter sat together on the floor on the right side of the couch, both feeling a bit nervous as they watched Donatello pace.

"Now if originally we had been human, and we somehow mutated back, that would be more understandable." Donatello held his new, smaller chin in his hand, crossing his other arm over his bare chest, and the wheels in his head turned faster. " It just doesn't make sense!"

"Neither does our disappearance." Leonardo added. " And we know for a fact the two coincide with each other."

"Man, this is _so_ much easier to play with smaller thumbs!" Michelangelo said happily as he pounded away on the buttons. " My score is going through the roof!"

"Your _thumbs_ are gonna be easier to break too!" Raphael grumbled as he turned the volume up again. " Turn that stupid thing off! That beepin' noise is makin' me crazy!"

"Ahhh, what's the matter, Raphie?" Michelangelo said in a mocked concerned voice. " Are you upset because you didn't get my good looks?" He then reached over and patted Raphael's cheek. " It's okay, I still think you're pretty!"

Michelangelo's smile faded when he saw the glare Raphael was giving him, which was more pronounced by his narrowed brown eyebrows, and he knew his brother was about to jump.

"Meep!" Michelangelo then dove over the back of the couch, only to fall on his face as Raphael grabbed the bottom of the bed sheet and jerked it out from under his feet. Raphael chuckled to himself as he heard Michelangelo moan in pain, but his laughter stopped when he noticed Splinter's cold stare.

Leonardo placed his palms together and bowed his head in thought, the ends of his hair bushing across his forehead. " Do any of you remember what happened that night?"

His eyes went to Donatello first, then to Raphael, both of them holding the same look of disarray.

Michelangelo sat up and leaned over the back of the couch. He pulled the twisted bed sheet off of his head, making his layered blonde hair fly away from the static.

"Weren't we tailing the Foot?" He asked, wrinkling his lightly freckled forehead as he faced Raphael.

"Yeah," Raphael continued. "We were ready to pounce on 'em, then this huge black truck appeared out of nowhere." His eyes then went to Donatello.

Donatello stopped pacing and stared into the floor. " I recall seeing the truck, but then I also remember a flash of light."

"Then nothing, right?" Leonardo finished for them all, and his brothers nodded in agreement. "Nothing but darkness."

"Man, my head hurts!" Michelangelo rubbed at his temples as he jumped back over the sofa.

Raphael suddenly laughed, trying his hardest not to crack a joke. "You make it _way_ too easy for me, Mikey."

"I think our best bet would be to go back and retrace our steps." Leonardo stood up and tightened the knot in his bed sheet. "There must be something up there that could help us find out what happened!"

"Uh, one question?" Michelangelo raised his arm into the air. "Are the togas optional?"

Leonardo made a quizzical face, then realized that Michelangelo was talking about the bed covers they were all wearing.

"We still have those outfits that Angel gave us," Donatello spoke as he headed for the elevator that led up to the surface. "I stuffed them inside the Battle Shell."

"You gotta be kiddin' me!" Raphael moaned as he jumped up from the couch and followed Leonardo and Michelangelo. "Do you know how ridiculous we'll look in those things?"

"It will do for now, Raph," Leonardo waited for his brothers to step into the glowing chamber before entering.

"Be careful, my sons. I hope you find the answers you seek." Splinter bowed his head, and the doors closed.

"Do you think we should have brought our weapons?" Michelangelo asked.

"What for?" Donatello replied. " Now that we're human, what kind of trouble could we possibly get into?"

* * *

"All right, boys. Out of the vehicle."

Michelangelo threw Donatello a dirty look as they unbuckled their seat belts and joined the police officer on the street.

"Yeah, Donnie. We couldn't possibly get into trouble!" He said sarcastically. Donatello's only response was a shrug under the weight of the baggy, white-hooded coat he wore.

"You boys do know that it's illegal to drive without a license, right?" The cop's southern accent flowed out from under the toothpick in his mouth as he leaned forward.

" Andyou do _know_ that _you_ are in _desperate _need of a breath mint, right?" Raphael waved his hand, a smug smile spreading across his face.

"_Raphael_!" Leonardo whispered as he shoved his elbow into his brothers' side. "_Don't_ _make things worse_!"

The cop pulled his shades down and leaned in closer to Raphael, spitting his toothpick on the ground as his eyes burned.

"You sure do gotta a smart mouth, boy, and I suggest you keep it shut."

Raphael narrowed his eyes and pushed his thin lips together. "Are you gonna make sure of that, cause I'd _love_ to see ya try!"

The sunglasses on the cops face fell lower down his large nose, and his wicked toothy grin grew.

Moments later, the four found themselves sitting in a cramped and dirty jail cell, and no one could stop from giving Raphael a dirty look.

"What!" Raphael said in his defense as he pulled on the white drawstrings that connected to the lavender hooded sweatshirt he wore. " Freakin' cop. I shoulda knocked him out!"

"Sure, Raph," Donatello rolled his eyes. "Getting arrested for assaulting an officer would have been a great addition to our joy riding charge."

Leonardo held onto the bars of the cell door and watched the hallway anxiously. Next to him on his left side, Michelangelo was seated on the small cot that hung down from the wall and he chewed nervously on his fingernails.

"I can't take it. I won't last a day in the big house!" His voice rose into a high pitch and Raphael couldn't hold back his growl of annoyance.

" Get ahold of yerself, Mikey. This is a police station, not federal prison!"

Michelangelo lowered his hand and tapped Donatello's shoulder. " Hey, do you think I could get in the Brotherhood or the Homeboys?"

Raphael laughed. "Naw, you'll be Fiona's little pet."

Leonardo turned away from the hallway and sighed. "I have _got_ to hide those Oz DVDs."

"Right this way, Miss ÒNeil."

Leonardo turned sharply back to the gray walls and tighten his grip on the bars as a female officer led their good friend April down the brightly lit hallway, the lights above catching the highlights of her red hair.

" I still don't understand. This must be a mistake! I don't have nephews!"

The officer stopped in front of the rusty jail cell doors, and April stared blankly into the faces of four teenage boys she had never seen before.

"April!" The black hair boy in front of her called out. "I'm glad you came."

Her green eyes grew wide as she suddenly recognized the voice. " Leo? Is that you?"

"Ma'am?" The female officer grumbled as she cleared her throat. April pulled her eyes away from the young inmates and gave the cop a dumbfounded smile.

"Yep, those are my wild and reckless, uh, nephews," April then added a nervous laugh as the cop reached for the cell door key.

* * *

April was still in shock as she drove the Battle Shell down the busy Manhattan streets. Donatello sat in the passenger seat while his brothers rode in the back.

"This is just . . . genetically _impossible_!" She said again. Donatello nodded, laughing slightly as April repeated his own words. " I don't see you guys for three months, then _this_!"

"I was thinking of collecting our blood samples and running a few tests on them," Donatello continued. "But some of my equipment isn't quite up-to-date. The results wouldn't be very accurate."

April blew air up at her bangs as she wheeled the vehicle over the Brooklyn Bridge.

"Don, you're not thinking of going to back to Stockman's lab again, are you?"

"Goin' back? We blew that place sky-high!" Raphael leaned forward across the seats, fastening his long hair with a rubber band. "Since when have you been goin' back there?"

"I've made a few trips here and there," Donatello admitted. "Stockman may have been crazy, but his research equipment was highly advanced, and since he's not using them anymore, I've taken the liberty of retrieving it for myself."

"Well, whatever you do, I hope you find out somethin' about what happened to us." Raphael looked up at his reflection in the rear-view mirror and studied his strong square jaw line, still not believing what his eyes were showing him. "I'm missin' my old face!"

The Battle Shell came to a stop in the middle of a vast parking lot full of cars, and the previous mutants filed out, their eyes wide with surprise.

"April?" Leonardo was the first to speak. " Where did you take us?"

"Since you guys can't walk around in _those_," She pointed to the baggy street clothes that now hung loosely on their thinner human frames. " I'm going to buy you four some better outfits that actually fit."

"The Mall!" Michelangelo shouted as he jumped into the air. " I've never been to the Mall before! WOOHOO!"He then grabbed April's hand and jerked her across the parking lot.

Raphael sighed and spoke in a dry, sarcastic tone. "Oh, yeah, _this_ is gonna be fun."


	3. Chapter Three: Orange Smoothies

Chapter Three: Orange Smoothies and Missing Memories

"Whoa!"

The four teenage boys said together in a bewildered state of awe as they stretched their necks around the three-story brightly light shopping mall. Their heighten ninjas senses were overloaded with all kinds of new things to see, smell, and hear, and it didn't take April long to realize that she had made a horrible mistake.

"Cool! A computer software and gaming store!" Donatello pointed, then walked absentmindedly away from his brothers.

"Donnie! Wait!" April called out, but her words were lost in the crowd.

"Hey, what's that place?" Raphael pointed to a bright red neon sign on his right side that read _Hot Topic_, and he smiled as a heavy rock beat blared out from the store. "Sweet!"

"Raph!" April reached for the back collar of his jacket, but missed, and watched as he disappeared from sight. As she turned back around, April noticed Leonardo and Michelangelo had also walked away, and she saw the tops of their heads vanish into the _Borders_ Book and Music store.

"And I thought they were hard to keep track of when they were turtles," April covered her face with her hands, then went in search of her missing friends.

Hours later after wondering around the mall without finding any sign of the guys, April plopped down into a metal white chair in the middle of the food court, letting her dozens of shopping bags fall from her grasp, and she leaned her head on the top of the white metal table, finally letting the agony of defeat take over her.

"Oh, April, what were you thinking!" She asked herself, but then heard a sudden burst of laughter rang out from behind. Her head immediately shot up from the table and she quickly turned around. Sitting about three tables behind her, she watched as the auburn headed Raphael flicked a french fry across the food court onto another table filled with teenage girls. Michelangelo's face grew bright red as he slapped both of his hands over his mouth to keep from laughing, while Donatello and Leonardo snickered quietly. Raphael spun back around before the girls knew where the fry had came from, and he did all he could to keep from laughing.

"Ahem!"

The four boys looked up at April, who had narrowed her thin eyebrows and crossed her arms over her chest.

"What are you guys doing?"

"Flirting." Michelangelo answered, then handed April a tall yellow and blue Styrofoam cup. " Orange smoothie?"

April glanced at the cup. "No, that's okay. But really guys, we need to get out of here. Don't you boys have some _clue finding _to do?"

"Yeah, yeah, in a minute, April," Raphael picked up another french fry and steadied it on the back of his middle finger. "I think I'm startin' ta get the hang of havin' five fingers." As he turned to fling the fry, he was suddenly greeted by his target.

"Excuse me, but does _this_ belong to you!"

Raphael couldn't help but smile as the tall and thin blonde in front of him flared her small nose as she talked, dangling the discarded french fry in his face.

"Maybe." He leaned back and folded his arms over his hooded sweatshirt, trying his hardest to keep cool. "Just thought I'd share them with ya."

"Well, since you like to share things so much, how about I share my drink with you?"

And before anyone could react, the blonde grabbed the belt of Raphael's white pants and dumped the contents of her smoothie directly onto his bare skin underneath.

"HOLY CRAP!" Raphael screamed as he jumped out of his seat. He pulled the cold, orange stain away from his skin, watching as the girl wrinkled her nose at him, then gathered her friends and walked away, sharing giggles as they moved out of sight. Raphael growled deep in his throat and tightened his fists as he started to follow, but this time, someone moved in to stop the action.

"Raph, just calm down." Leonardo placed his hand on Raphael's chest and stopped him.

"It's not worth it."

Raphael sighed, knowing that Leonardo was right, and he slumped back down into his seat, feeling a sudden pain in his head.

"I'll never get Carrie ta like me."

Raphael then realized what had come out of his mouth, and his shock was mirrored in everyone's sudden enlarge eyes.

"Huh?" Michelangelo was the first to speak.

"How did you know her name?" Donatello followed. "You've never met her before!"

Raphael placed his fingers to the ache in his left temple. " I-I don't know. It just . . . came out."

"All right," Leonardo motioned for his brothers to stand up. " We've done enough goofing around. We have a lot of questions that need to be answered."

The guys helped April collect the many shopping bags, and as they moved out of the food court, something caught Michelangelo's eye, and, unfortunately for April, he couldn't keep his mouth closed about it.

" Sweet! This place has a _Dick's_ Sporting Goods store!"

And April once again moaned in agony as the four disappeared, leaving her in a pile of bagged merchandise.

* * *

Later that evening, the former mutant turtles gathered together in the living room area of their underground home and formulated a plan of action. Leonardo and Raphael stood a few feet apart from each other, facing the couch, which was occupied by Donatello and Michelangelo.

"Are you going to Stockman's tonight, Don?" Leonardo asked, making sure he had everything in order.

"It's on my agenda," Donatello answered without looking up from the pair of scissors in his hand. He cut out the label from one of his new shirts, then tossed the shirt over the arm of the couch and grabbed another. "I just hope I can find something usable."

"Want me to go with you?"

Donatello turned to Michelangelo, watching intently as his brother threw a grape into the air and caught it with the tip of his tongue.

"No, I'll be okay." Donatello then laughed at the look on Michelangelo's face as it twisted from the sour taste that suddenly invaded his mouth.

"You're coming with us, Mikey." Leonardo pointed to himself and Raphael. " We need the extra pair of eyes."

"I can't stand this thing!" Raphael growled as he pulled on the neck of the gray T-shirt he was wearing. " It's makin' me itch all over!"

"I know it's uncomfortable, Raph." Leonardo said as he also pulled on his shirt. "But we don't have a choice in the matter."

"And besides, I really _don't _wanna see you run around here naked!" Michelangelo joked, throwing another grape into the air. He sat there for a few seconds with his mouth gaping before he realized nothing had come back down. "Hey! Where'd it go?" The grape suddenly splattered across his freckled cheek, and he growled as Raphael's laughter rang through his ears.

"Okay, then it's settled. We'll leave at sunset." Leonardo stated and began to move away from his brothers when Raphael's voice pulled him back.

"Sunset? Why do we have ta wait until it's dark? We ain't gonna exactly stand out anymore, Leo."

Leonardo opened his mouth to respond, but stopped when Splinter answered for him.

"You may not be in mutant form anymore, but you are still ninja, Raphael." Splinter held onto his walking stick as he stood up from the battered armchair that sat diagonal from the sofa.

"And as a ninja, you must stick to the shadows."

As Splinter left his students in the living room, Leonardo followed close behind, waiting for his master and father to give instructions for their evening training exercises. But as Splinter headed for his room, a worried look overcame the young boy's face as he called out to his Sensi.

"Master Splinter, are we not receiving a lesson tonight?"

Splinter stopped at the top of the steps and turned around, his face dropping down even further as he saw the look of disappointment in Leonardo's big brown eyes, which seemed to be more apparent in his human state.

"No, Leonardo. I have several matters I need to meditate upon." Splinter bowed then turned back to the sliding doors. "I trust you will at least practice on your own."

Leonardo bowed, lowering his eyes in respect. "Of course, Sensi."And as he straightened out his back, he found Splinter had vanished into the sanctity of his room. Sighing heavily as he moved toward the practice mat with his head down, Leonardo caught the sight of a pair of bare feet blocking his way. His eyes traveled up from the feet, along the loose-fitting blue jeans and gray shirt to the look of concern on Raphael's face.

"What's up with you?" He asked, surprising Leonardo even more. Leonardo studied his brother's face closely, the first time he had done so since their human transformation, and it seemed that Raphael was doing the same.

"It's . . . " Leonardo started, then hesitated as he reached for his swords that were leaning up against the wall. "It's nothing."

"You think Master Splinter doesn't believe that it's really _us, _don't ya?"

Leonardo's head shot back up, knowing that his brother knew him better than he thought he did. Raphael then moved over to the battered punching bag, and attempted to remove his pair of sai.

"What the . . . ?" Raphael growled as his pulled on the handles. "I swear. Mikey better not had put bacon grease on these again!"

"I don't think that's the case, Raph."

Raphael let go of the sais and turned back around to face Leonardo, and he gasped when he saw that his brother, who could handle a katana better than any of them, was straining under the weight of one sword as he tried to hold it up in the air.

"There's something else," Leonardo let go of the sword and it fell to the ground, the metal clang echoed throughout the lair.

"What?" Raphael asked.

"I don't remember how to use them."


	4. Chapter Four: One Unexpected Finding

Chapter Four: One Unexpected Finding Leads to Another

Donatello swung his small black flashlight around the inside of the once distinguished underground lab of Dr. Baxter Stockman, inhaling the scents of burnt wiring and melted hardware. He always thought it was a disappointing shame that he and his brothers had to destroy the lab, but fortunately there was still a lot of scientific equipment left over for Donatello to salvage and use for his own purposes. He knew that he also took a huge risk coming back to the lab, knowing that the Foot had also been down here taking equipment on Dr. Stockman's request, and with his knowledge of _ninjutsu _now complete gone, Donatello did all he could to be quiet, for the most part.

"OW!" He turned around and his forehead collided with a large sheet of metal that hung down from the ceiling. He immediately covered the sore spot with his black gloved hand, and held back the long line of curse words that wanted to find their way out of his mouth.

After shaking off the throbbing ache in his head, Donatello continued to make his way through the dark lab. As he ducked out of the way as a few sparks that flew down from a light fixture, Donatello's black boot tangled in a twisted mess of wiring and he lost his balance, tumbling into a broken control panel, which in turn fell apart and crashed into the wall behind it.

"Not . . . again . . . ," Donatello moaned, grabbing his forehead, with both hands this time, and he laid in a fetal position for a few minutes longer as the noises calmed down around him.

"I've never been this big of a klutz before. That's usually Mikey's department!"

Donatello pushed himself up to his knees and brushed the dust out of his short brown hair, looking back through the gapping hole in the wall where he now sat. A sudden flicker of fluorescent lighting from behind made him turn back around toward the newly discovered room, and Donatello could not think any anything else to do but let his bottom jaw drop in shock

* * *

"Okay, it's all clear."

Leonardo waved his hand, allowing Raphael and Michelangelo to move out from the shadows, and the three continued to look around as they began to inspect the alley that loomed before them.

"Just _what _exactly are we looking for?" Michelangelo lifted up the top of a trash dumpster, then quickly shut as the smell burned his nose.

"I'm not sure." Leonardo lifted his eyes to the rooftops above them. "We have no memories of what happened that night."

"Which means we ain't got nothin' to go on!" Raphael growled, slamming his black boot into the dumpster that Michelangelo had opened. "And I'm feeling _really _uncomfortable in this stuff!"

Leonardo looked back down to his brothers and scanned over the all black outfits that they were all wearing.

"Yeah, we look more like the Foot now!" Michelangelo pulled the hood off of his head, his hair flying everywhere. "I'm getting sweaty!"

"Would you guys just _please_ stop complaining? We have work to do!" Leonardo began to walk down the alley, raking his black-gloved finger tips along the rough bricks of the building, and he scanned the dirty ground. Something suddenly crunched under his boot, and he quickly knelt down to find the source.

"Mikey, hand me the flashlight." Leonardo held out his palm, and Michelangelo slowly placed the flashlight into his palm.

"What did you find?" He asked as he leaned over his brother, his curiosity getting the best of him.

Leonardo said nothing, but instead held up the object he had crushed with his boot. Michelangelo raised a blonde eyebrow at the crisscross pattern that covered the transparent fragment while Raphael turned his nose up at it.

"So?" Raphael grumbled as he tossed aside a few trash bags. "We're in a trash-covered alley, Leo. It's not like we ain't gonna find broken glass around here."

Leo sighed as he stood up, holding the flashlight closer to the shard. " It's not glass, Raph. It's plastic. It's a piece of a turning signal cover from a truck."

"Like the one we saw before the lights went out?" Michelangelo said, half-jokingly.

Raphael moved closer to the yellow plastic and grabbed it out of Leonardo's hand. "Do ya think we were tryin' to fight off whatever it was that took us?"

"That's what I'm guessing." Leonardo then looked back to the brick wall and noticed something else. He moved over to wall and ran his fingers over the long white slash marks that were permanently imbedded into the side of the building. "There was defiantly some sort of battle in this alley. These marks could have only been made by a sword, several, in fact, by the way it looks."

"Uh, Leo?"

Leonardo felt Michelangelo tug on the back of his long sleeve black shirt, and before he could say anything to his brother, he noticed several shadows looming on the ground from around the corner of the building, and they all froze as a deep, husky voice called out into the darkness.

"Search everywhere! Do not disappoint our master!"

Michelangelo gasped, then lowered his voice. "_That sounded like Hun!_"

"_Oh, that's just great_!" Raphael also spoke very low. "_We got no weapons, no ninja skills, and our good buddies the Foot just _happen _to show up! This keeps gettin' better and better!_"

"_Quick_!" Leonardo whispered as he pointed up. "_The fire escape_!"

Raphael quietly climbed onto the trash dumpster and started to scale the metal ladder, and Leonardo waited patiently as Michelangelo followed after Raphael. The shadows grew closer as Leonardo leaped into the air, grabbing onto the bottom rung tightly, and he began to ascend the ladder.

"_Here, Leo. Grab my hand, and I'll pull ya up._" Raphael leaned over the high roof ledge and flexed his gloved fingers.

Leonardo paused as Hun called out again, and he couldn't help but look down as the Foot ninjas scattered into the alley, but he soon realized he had made a huge mistake by doing so.

"_Uh, guys_?"

Michelangelo joined Raphael at the roof's edge, and they watched as Leonardo's eyes grew wide through the slits in his black face mask.

"Leo, are you okay?" Michelangelo asked slowly as his oldest brother's body began to shake and his fingers tighten their grip on the fire escape ladder.

"Come on, Leo!" Raphael stretched his arm down farther. "Stop goofin' around and grab my hand!"

Leonardo reluctantly let one hand go from the ladder rung and began to reach for Raphael, but then felt his other hand start to slip as the glove became wet from his sweaty palm.

"No! I can't do it!" Leonardo pulled back, and his brothers look at each other as he pushed himself against the ladder and whimpered.

Raphael growled again and shook his head. " Our _fearless _leader sure did pick a shell of a time to chicken out on us!"

Michelangelo then did as Raphael and stretched his hands down to his brother. "Come on, Leo! Just grab onto us and _don't_ look down, okay? On my count, ready? One."

"No! I can't!" Leonardo buried his face into his hands.

"Two . . . "

Raphael then pushed his entire body over the side of the building, grabbed Leonardo's shoulders and jerked both of their bodies over the top. He sat Leonardo up against the bricks and pulled the black hood from his head. He could see all of the coloring had disappeared from Leonardo's face, and his smooth skin was dripping wet with sweat.

"What the heck happened to ya down there!" Raphael wiped Leonardo's forehead with the face mask. "I thought ya got over that whole fear of heights thing years ago!"

"I. . . don't know . . . Raph . . . " Leonardo answered as he tired to regain his breath. He then felt a pain go through his temple, exactly like the one he had experienced earlier that morning, and he buried his face into his palms.

"You! What are you doing up here?"

Leonardo's hands flew back down from his face, and his eyes met with an all-too-familiar set of emerald green ones.

"_Karai_ . . . "

Leonardo then heard a deep rumble in Raphael throat, and he knew right away his brother was not at all happy to see her.

"I gave all of you explicit instructions to follow!" The tall Japanese woman moved closer to them, her short and neatly trimmed black hair shining in the moonlight as the tendrils of her red headband blew in the breeze. Karai then noticed that the three black clad ninjas in front of her where not ninjas at all, but three teenage boys dressed in black, and to Karai, they were interfering with her work. She quickly drew her sword out of the sheath on her back and pointed the blade at the young men.

"What are you doing up here? Tell me now before I slay you all!"

"Geesh, calm down!" Michelangelo called out as he raised his arms above his head.

"Your girlfriend's a little pushy, Leo." Raphael joked, sharing a hearty laugh with Michelangelo. Leonardo, who had heard enough of the various wisecracks about the unspoken attraction he and Karai shared, stood up and silenced his brothers by narrowing his eyes at them.

He then turned back to Karai, watching the light bounce off of her sword, and after taking a deep breath, Leonardo spoke.

"Please, Karai, don't attack us. We are defenseless against you, and you hold us at your mercy."

Karai lowered her sword as the black-haired boy knelt down and bowed his head, and her green eyes grew in shock as the recognition of the boy's voice registered in her head.

"Leonardo," She said almost breathlessly, and as the former mutant stood back up, her wide eyes scanned every inch of his appearance.

"Yes." He nodded back, then noticed that Raphael and Michelangelo had also stood up and they joined him.

"Your . . . brothers?" Karai asked as she looked them over, then frowned when she realized one was gone. "Where is the fourth one?"

"He is. . . elsewhere at the moment."

Karai returned her sword then walked over to the edge of the building, watching as Hun and the large group of Foot ninjas continued to scour the alley below.

"You are taking a great risk coming back to this place." Karai said without looking back.

"No kiddin'." Raphael replied coldly.

"We had no choice, Karai," Leonardo moved over to where the female ninja stood, choosing to stay behind her in case one of her followers looked up. "As you can see, we have a lot of questions that need to be answered."

"Yes, I know of what you speak of."

Leonardo quietly gasped. "You do?"

Karai spun back around and walked right by Leonardo and his brothers, stopping when she reached the opposite side of the building, and after checking the street below, she motioned for the boys to join her.

"It is too dangerous for us to be talking about this now. My Master has sent us looking for the four of you, for he has questions of his own that need to be answered."

"About us?" Michelangelo jumped in. " Aw, I didn't know Old Tin Butt cared so much!"

"He believes you to be dead, and he wishes to keep you that way." Karai broke into Michelangelo's laughter and broke the young boy's spirit.

"So how do we know you ain't gonna do it yerself?" Raphael grumbled, finally removing his sweaty face mask and retying his shoulder length hair.

"Raph!" Leonardo snapped.

Karai held up her palm and Leonardo released his tensions. " It is all right, Leonardo. Your brother has the right to not trust me. Due to my loyalty to Master Shredder, I have given him many reasons not too. But now is not the time to speak. You must leave immediately."

A loud ring from the Shell Cell in Leonardo's pocket suddenly pierced the night air and he quickly answered it to avoid drawing attention from the ninjas below them.

"Hello?" His ear was then greeted by a high-strung and anxious voice that was normally quiet.

"_Leo! You guys need to get down here! You are not going to believe what I found!_"

"Okay, Don. We'll be there shortly." Leonardo waited for Donatello to hang up before returning the phone to his pocket. " We have to leave."

"Sounds good to me! I'm gettin' hungry!" Michelangelo then started to climb off the edge of the building when he remembered how high up they were. "Maybe we should take the stairs?"

Raphael sighed heavily, pushing his way between Leonardo and Karai as he and Michelangelo headed for the enclosed stairwell that descended down into the building.

"Are ya comin' or what?" He called out to Leonardo as he pulled the door open and let Michelangelo go down the stairs first. Karai moved a little closer to Leonardo and whispered into his ear as she passed by him.

"Meet me tomorrow night, Leonardo, and I will help you find the answers you seek."

And with that, the warrior flipped over the edge of the building and rejoined her small ninja army, leaving Leonardo a little bewildered and very worried.


	5. Chapter Five: An Accident Waiting

Chapter Five: An Accident Waiting to Happen

_Don't fear, my friends . . . I will give you a new life . . . _

Leonardo breathed deeply as he kicked his left leg into the air, and he was trying with all of his might to concentrate of his Master, but the voice that he had heard in his sleep continued to break through.

_I can give you everything you have ever dreamed of . . . you will be able to do what your heart desires . . . _

Splinter noticed the far away look on Leonardo's face and stopped him. "My son, do wish to continue your lesson? You cannot preform your kata if you are so distant."

Leonardo brought his bare feet together and hung his head down. "I'm sorry, sensi. There is just so much going on, and so many things that just _don't_ make sense . . . ," He stopped when he noticed that his voice was raising and his fists were squeezed together, and waited a moment before speaking again.

" I didn't wish for this to happen to us. I just want to be _myself_ again."

Splinter bowed, feeling the sorrow his son carried. " I understand, Leonardo." The old rat then placed his hand on Leonardo's shoulder. "We will conclude this lesson later."

As Leonardo sighed and began to head back the couch, which had been his bed during the night, the elevator doors opened and April appeared.

"Okay, guys. What is it that is _so_ important that I had to get up at six o'clock on a Saturday?"

Donatello turned around from his work bench, removing the safety goggles from his eyes and lowering his blow torch. " I didn't say you had to come here this early!" His eyes then went to the couch where Michelangelo had his face buried in a pillow to muffle his laughter.

April sighed then joined Donatello, watching quietly as he melted pieces of metal together. "I take it you found some useful things down there?"

"Yep, I sure did!" Donatello turned off the torch and set it aside, knocking over a small cardboard box full of nuts and bolts. "Aw, shell, not again!"

"That was graceful." April joked. She bent down to collect the pieces of hardware, but was stopped by Donatello's waving hand.

"Don't worry about it, April. I'll get it later."

"Donnie!" April then noticed the many band-Aids that covered his fingers. "What in the world did you do?"

Donatello chuckled, turning his head away in embarrassment. "I, uh, had a _slight _accident while I was cutting a piece of aluminum."

"A '_slight' _accident?" April then followed the brown haired boy into the living room area and she joined Michelangelo and Leonardo on the couch. "And _what_, exactly, were you cutting it with?"

"A rotary shear knife."

April's jaw dropped. "Donatello! You're lucky to have your hands at all!"

Michelangelo started laughing again. "Yeah, that's why we to hide all of his power tools!"

April shook her head, then got back to the purpose of her visit. " Okay, start talking. What did you want to ask me about?"

Donatello pulled the lawn chair that sat of the left side of the couch over and placed himself on it in front of April.

"How long did you work for Dr. Stockman?"

"Just a little while. It wasn't even a year, I think." April shrugged. "Why?"

"No real reason, except for the fact that while I was down in his lab last night, I happened to come across something that was _very_ interesting, and I wanted to know if you knew about it." Donatello stood and rushed over to his computer desk, then brought back a large glass jar filled to the top with a yellowish green liquid.

"Man, Donnie!" Michelangelo covered his face again. "Do you_ have_ to bring that thing back out?"

Donatello sneered at his brother as he placed the jar in April's hands, and watched the look of confusion on her pale face turned into a look of disgust as she peered at the gray object that floated around inside.

"Is that a. . . . _brain_?"

Donatello sat back down on the lawn chair. " I found a hidden room _full_ of human body parts, bottled up and labeled, just like that one. I also found charts, graphs and stacks of research papers on the inner workings of the human body, most of which focused on human brain."

"I don't understand." April absentmindedly passed the jar to Michelangelo, who held back to urge to vomit as he set it down on the floor below him. "Stockman wasn't interested in human research. Why in the world would that stuff be down there?"

Donatello reached into the back pocket of his black jeans and pulled out a folded piece of yellowed paper. "I also found this." April took the paper out of his hand and scanned over the sloppy handwriting, which look like it had been jotted down in a mad rush.

"It's some kind of journal entry." Donatello leaned over and pointed at the scribbled numbers at the top of the page. " Look at the date. It's from 1999."

"This isn't even Stockman's handwriting," April brought the paper closer to her eyes. " I can barely make this out."

"I hope you won't mind if I stop by your apartment later and use your computer, April. I'm going to see if I can dig up some more information on Stockman." Donatello retrieved the glass jar and returned it to its hiding spot.

"What's wrong with yours?" April asked.

"Donnie spilled his orange juice on it this morning!" Michelangelo said with a laugh as April shook her head. Donatello rolled his eyes as he stood back up and replaced the lawn chair as he walked to the center of the lair.

"Raph! Can you come down here for a second?" Donatello called out as he moved across the bridge that covered the pool of river water.

"NO! I'M SLEEPIN'!" Raphael's voice boomed out of the darkness of his room.

"Leo, could you get him please?"

Leonardo stared blankly at Donatello, then slowly dragged his eyes to the circular platform high above their heads.

"He'll come down here. Just give him a little time." Leonardo said with an uneasy smile and a small chuckle.

April raised an eyebrow as she watched Leonardo nervously wring his hands together. "Is everything okay, Leo?"

"Yeah, I'm fine! No problem here!" He answered back in a high-pitched anxious tone, his eyes still fixated on the high walkway.

Donatello returned the blank look Leonardo had given him and sighed as he climbed the metal staircase. After having a wonderfully loud shouting match with his brother that everyone below could plainly hear, Donatello reappeared and descended the stairs, Raphael grumbling right behind him.

"Okay, bros, follow me over here if you would, please?" Donatello motioned with his bandaged forefinger as he walked back to his work bench. "Since I now have the means to analyze our DNA, I will need a small blood sample from each one of you."

Raphael was the first to protest as Donatello sterilized a long needle with his blow torch. " No _way_ are you stickin' me with that thing! I'll have holes all over me!"

Donatello ignored Raphael's comment, grabbed his cranky brother's right hand, and shoved the sharp point of the needle into the tip of his forefinger.

"OW!" Raphael yelled as he pulled his hand back and watched as a bubble of blood rose up.

"See how quick and _painless_ that was?" Donatello smiled wickedly, then pressed Raphael's finger, pushing a few drops of plasma into a glass vial. After he sealed the vial, Donatello grabbed two more needles and repeated the process with Leonardo and Michelangelo, then with himself.

"So how does that thing work?" Michelangelo asked as Leonardo wrapped a band-aid around his finger tip.

"This _thing_ is called a genetic analyzer, Mikey," Donatello placed the vials into the metallic circular vat and closed the lid. "After it purifies our blood, the DNA will be combined with primers that will target specific loci in the DNA molecule to amplify the size of them, and after it goes though a polymerase chain reaction, the instrumentation I built into the machine will determine the sizes in each DNA locus. Then after it's done, I'll compare the results to the ones I did on us years ago and see if we actually still mutant turtles."

"Say what?" Raphael asked, copying the distant look Michelangelo had.

Donatello sighed, then repeated his words in a way that his brother could understand.

"This thing spins around in circles for a few hours then it prints out a piece of paper that will tell us if we're human or mutant."

"A few hours!" Michelangelo whined, then walked back to the couch and slumped down. "What are we supposed to do until then?"

"It's the best I could do, Mikey," Donatello carefully pushed the analyzer back away from the edge of the table. " A normal DNA test can take two days or more."

Raphael joined Michelangelo on the couch and reached down to the ground for the remote, but found that his brother had already beat him to it. He watched helplessly as Michelangelo flipped through the channels, expecting his brother to stop on cartoons, but he instead stopped on something that completely surprised Raphael.

"Mikey, why the shell are we watchin' some old guy play a piano?"

Michelangelo didn't answer him, and the unusual silence caused Raphael to turn his attention to his brother and the humming that went along to the classical music that blared from the speakers. Leonardo, April and Donatello moved closer to the couch and watched in a horrified shock as Michelangelo closed his eyes and his fingers slid across his lap as if he was actually playing the music himself.

"Beethoven's _Bagatelle in A Minor_," Michelangelo said, his eyes remaining shut. "One of his better pieces, if you ask me."

Raphael stared wide eyed at Michelangelo as the music concluded and his fingers stopped moving. " I thought the only Beethoven you knew about was the _dog?_!"

"Things are getting _very _weird around here." April said in a low voice as Michelangelo's fingers began playing another work of music on his lap.

"Is there anyway you can speed up that DNA testing, Donnie?" Leonardo asked without removing his fear-filled eyes from his younger brother.

Donatello turned around and began to walk back to his work bench. "Well, I might be able to accelerate the polymerase phase since it takes the longest and - WHOAAHHH!"

Leonardo and April turned around and gasped as Donatello tripped over his loosen shoelaces and collided with the table, sending the genetic analyzer into the air. It sat suspended in the air for a few seconds, and Donatello prepared himself by shielding his head with his arms as the analyzer crashed to the floor directly in front of him.

"Oops." Donatello mumbled from under his arms.

"Great. _Just _great." Raphael slapped his hands over his eyes and sunk down into the couch. "I knew I shoulda stayed in bed."

Splinter then appeared and helped Donatello up to a sitting position, offering his son a smile as the throughly embarrassed boy tied his shoe, and noticing the expressions of disappointment on his other sons' faces.

"Miss O'Neil, may I speak with you?" Splinter pulled April aside and lowered his voice. "Normally I would not ask you for such a favor, but would you allow my sons to stay the night? I believe a change of scenery would do them some good."

April hesitated at first, but saw the hopelessness in her friends, and she smiled back at Splinter, who in return bowed his head, feeling grateful for her presence in his sons' lives.

"All right, guys! Pack your bags! You're coming with me!"

* * *

A/N: _Okay, I take back my previous statement. This _is _selling! I'm at the halfway point and I just wanted to say thank you to everyone who is taking the time to read this and for all of the wonderful reviews. I really appreciate all of your kind words, and I'm glad everyone is enjoying it._ ;0) 


	6. Chapter Six: Encounters of the Strange

Chapter Six: Encounters of the Strange Kind

"Come on Raph! You're not even trying!"

Raphael lowered the fake plastic red gun from the game screen and threw Michelangelo a dirty look.

"You're lucky this thing ain't real, Mikey." He turned his attention back to the large video screen just as an animated zombie attacked his character and the words _YOU ARE DEAD_ appeared. Raphael growled loudly, then threw the gun back into its holster and slammed his tennis shoe into the black side panel of the arcade game. Donatello, who was down on the ground and leaning up against the _House of the Dead_ game, jumped at the sound, and his hand bounced the eraser end of his pencil right into his eyeball.

"Geesh, Raph! Make me go blind, why don't you?" Donatello looked up at his brother from the notepad in his lap, covering his injured eye with his right hand.

Raphael let out a small laugh. " Like ya weren't before? You're the one who smacked into the wall on the way in here."

Donatello grumbled under his breath as he stood up, still rubbing out the pain in his eye, and watched Michelangelo play with the good one.

"Aren't you finished _yet_, Mikey? We've been in this arcade for three hours now!"

"Well, Master Splinter said we needed to get some air! Besides," Michelangelo fished a handful of quarters out of the pocket of his jeans and dropped them onto the console. " I've almost beaten the top score! Ready to go again, Raphie?"

"Naw, I'm sick of huntin' zombies." Raphael tugged on the sleeve on Donatello's white T-shirt. " Let's get outta here." He then pointed a finger at Michelangelo. "Meet us in the food court in an hour, and I _mean_ it, Mikey!"

Michelangelo waved his brothers away without removing his eyes from the screen. "Yeah, okay. Bye-bye now!"

"Where to now?" Donatello asked with his nose buried in his notebook as the two brothers exited out of the arcade room and turned down the brightly lit tiled floor of the crowded mall walkway.

"Don't know. Don't really care, either." Raphael answered, keeping his eyes straight.

"Do you think Leo feels any better?"Donatello tried again to make conversation with his brother.

"He's not sick. It was an excuse to go see Karai." Raphael leaned in closer to Donatello and read over the scribbled words he had written on the paper. " Can I ask ya a question?"

"Shoot." Donatello answered without looking up.

"Do ya like bein' this way?"

This time Donatello stopped and raised his head, and Raphael could see from the expression his brother had that he was taking time to think about his answer.

"Well, it's okay, I guess. It's been nice being able to walk around above ground like we have."

Raphael shoved his hands into his jean pockets and the two starting walking again. "Yeah. It's been fun." The tone in his voice dropped down a few levels as he spoke. " I kinda miss bein' a mutant turtle." Raphael then let out a small chuckle. " Sounds stupid, huh?"

Donatello shook his head. " Not at all. Leo told me the same thing this morning, and I really do agree with the both of you. I never thought that I really_ would _miss it, actually."

Raphael sighed, then reached up to his forehead and rubbed at the stinging pain that ripped through his skull. Donatello watched as he sat down on the edge of the fountain that sat in the center court of the mall and began to apply pressure to his temples.

"Have you been having a lot of those strange head pains, Raph?"

"Yeah," He pushed on the sides of his head and looked up at his brother. " Right here."

"That's something else Leo mentioned to me." Donatello cupped his chin in his hand. "Hmmmm...,"

"What?" Raphael felt the pain ease a little and he lowered his hands.

"It seems that every time we try to remember what happen to us, we have these headaches. But it also happens when we have those strange 'episodes', like the one Mikey had this morning, and like the one you had yesterday after the incident with that girl."

Donatello then realized he was pacing again, and he quickly turned back to face his brother. His left hand that held the notebook slammed into Raphael's shoulder, catching his brother off-guard as he fell backwards into the cold fountain water. Donatello stood still, holding his empty hand over his gapping mouth, not really sure if he should help his brother out of the fountain, or start running, but he came to a fast conclusion as Raphael stood up, the water running off of his black T-shirt and blue jeans as they clung to his body.

"Come here, Donnie," He gestured with his hand and Donatello found no comfort in Raphael's expressionless face.

"Aw, shell..." Donatello wasted no time in pushing his body forward as he dashed around the fountain and down the wide mall corridor, pushing through the throngs of shoppers.

"Get back here, Donnie!" Raphael called out from behind him, his soaked shoes squeaking as he ran. "You are _SO_ dead!"

As he turned his head back to find the location of Raphael's angry voice, Donatello tripped over his own feet and landed on the inside of a prominent musical instrument store. The sounds of a nearby piano and the figure playing it caught his attention and he stood up, no longer caring that his brother was going to beat him senseless.

"Mikey? What in the world are you doing in here?" Donatello scooted next to Michelangelo on the bench and watched in amazement as his blonde brother's fingers glided gracefully over the ebony and ivory keys. " How did you get here so fast?"

"I went out the south entrance of the arcade. And to answer your first question, I got bored. If you've played one video game, you've played them all." Michelangelo suddenly stopped playing, his fingers poised to hit the next note. " Could you do me a favor and turn that?"

Donatello glanced up at the sheet music that Michelangelo had nodded at. " Uh, okay." He flipped the page over and Michelangelo continued, the beautiful melody flowing throughout the store and out into the mall, stopping a few people at the entrance way.

"_Liebestraume_, 'Dream of Love'. One of my favorites." Michelangelo closed his eyes and let the music overcome him. " Frank Liszt was a musical genius."

"Mikey, I don't know what frightens me more," Donatello said as he turned another page.

"The fact that you can play that, or that you can speak German _and_ know what it means."

"There you are!" Raphael shouted from the store entrance, water dripping from his loose auburn hair. "I'm gonna-!"

"_SHHHHHH!"_

Raphael looked to his left, watching as a nicely dressed, older blonde woman next to him lowered her long, boney finger from her lips.

"Have some manners, young man." The woman turned her eyes back to Michelangelo, and Raphael couldn't help himself from glaring in her direction. When his brother finished the piece of music and bowed to his enthusiastic audience, Raphael pushed through the crowd and grabbed Michelangelo's arm.

"Come on, I wanna get outta here!"

Michelangelo then pointed and laughed at Raphael's drenched clothing. "Dude, what did you do? Go swimming in the fountain?" He pulled on the black T-shirt and let it go, laughing harder at the smacking sound it made as it hit Raphael's side. " You know you're only supposed to throw pennies in there, right?"

Raphael let out a low growl and was about to responded when the older blonde woman came in and pulled Michelangelo out of his grasp.

"Oh, Alex! I knew that was you! I know my baby's playing technique anywhere!"

Michelangelo pushed on the woman's shoulder, trying to avoid the kisses she was placing on his freckled cheek. "Hey, lady! We just met! Aren't we moving a little fast?"

Raphael sighed at his brother's lame joke, and with Donatello's help, they managed to pull Michelangelo free.

"I knew I would find you again, Alex dear! I"ve missed you so much! I knew you didn't run away!"

"I'm sorry ma'am, but I think you're mistaking him for someone else." Donatello intercepted the woman as she again lunged for his shaken brother.

The woman gave Donatello a cold stare, tears forming from her overwhelm emotions.

" Don't you _dare_ tell me I'm wrong! I think I would know my son when I see him!"

Michelangelo grabbed at his throbbing head and pulled on Donatello's shirt. " I don't feel so good, Donnie."

"I know, Mikey. We're getting out of here." Donatello placed his hands on Michelangelo's shoulders and pushed him to the store entrance, trying his best to ignore the many sets of eyes that watched their every movement.

"Alexander! Come back! Please come back!" The blonde woman called out through her tears as she began to follow them, but found a very aggressive auburn haired teenager blocking her way.

"Just back off, lady!" Raphael growled. "He ain't your kid!"

"You! I told Alex you were bad news!" The woman dabbed at her eyes with a tissue.

" You won't get away with kidnaping my son!"

Raphael blankly stared back at her, then slowly moved away and ran to catch up with his brothers, the woman's words still echoing in his head as they left the mall.

* * *

Leonardo let his eyes glide over the city skyline once more, taking in the bright sunshine as it reflected off of the many skyscrapers. He changed his line of sight to the tops of the dark green trees that grew around him, then back down to the large, crystal clear lake that sat in the upper half of Central Park where a flock of geese had recently landed. Everything was still the same, but with his human eyes, Leonardo felt as if everything was distant and alien to him. He drew his knees closer to him and folded his arms over them, resting his head in the small pocket he had made, trying to block out the pain that pounded deep within his head.

"Leonardo."

The gust of wind that blew through seemed to speak his name, and he slowly lifted his head, gasping as he noticed that it wasn't the wind who had spoken to him.

" Please do not acknowledge my presence, Leonardo," Karai warned. "I was followed here, and we are being watched this very moment."

Leonardo whipped his head back to the lake, taking in Karai's appearance and almost smiling at the fact she was not dressed in her Foot attire, but in a red pant suit.

Karai had also looked over Leonardo, noting the collared, long-sleeved blue shirt he wore over a white T-shirt and the loose fitting jeans that covered the top half of his shoes.

"I still find it strange to see you in human form, Leonardo." Karai commented, stopping herself from smiling.

"Yeah." Leonardo agreed. "That makes two of us. I can't seem to get comfortable with it."

A long pause then followed, both of them becoming uneasy with each passing second. Karai then silently decided that she needed to address the reason she had agreed to meet the sworn enemy of her Master and leave before the ninjas that followed her discovered what she was doing.

"I was there that night. I saw what happened to you and your brothers." Karai paused for a moment, waiting to see if Leonardo had anything to say, but when the silence became deafening again, she continued on.

" I was watching from a distant building, and the Foot army was already in that alley before your arrival. I watched as the four of you ran across the buildings and descended into the dark alley below. I could only hear sounds, nothing more, until-,"

Leonardo turned his head slightly, wondering why Karai had stopped. " Until what?"

"I never saw nor heard the vehicle approaching, but when those bright yellow lights appeared, I knew I had to move. When I entered the alley, I watched quietly as a set of enormous clawed mandibles attacked you and your brothers. But, just you. The Foot were left untouched and they could do nothing but stare at the evil machine as it knocked all of you unconscious and pulled your limp bodies inside of it. Then, as quickly as it had appeared, it vanished, and I thought that was last I would ever see of you."

Leonardo sat in a stunned silence, the pain increasing in his temples. "And when did this happen?"

"It has been three months."

Leonardo nodded as Karai confirmed what Splinter had told them the day before. "And you have no idea who could have taken us and done..._this_ to us?"

He watched from the corners of his eyes as Karai shook her head sadly. " I'm sorry Leonardo. I have told you everything that I know." She was then startled by something behind her, and Leonardo could feel a sudden panic in the space between them.

"I must leave." Karai turned to depart, but stopped when Leonardo spoke again.

"Thank you, Karai. I know I put you in danger by coming here." Leonardo then ignored her previous request and turned to face her. "Would I be asking too much if I said I might need your help again later?"

Karai froze, not knowing exactly what Leonardo had in mind, and all she could think of was how irrate her master would be if he found out about her, but she could not help but feel drawn to the one she once called ally.

"I will not hold a promise to you as of now, Leonardo," Karai lowered her voice as she spoke. "But, if the time comes when you need assistance, I will try."

* * *

Later that night, April sat on her red couch, sipping a mug of hot tea and watching the evening news as her four teenage 'nephews' slept in a heaping pile of blankets on the living room floor. She strained to hear the anchorman over the snoring, holding back the urge to turn up the volume, but finally gave in, realizing that the four boys were too worn out to even stir from the sound of the T.V.

"And in other news, the search continues for four local teenage boys who mysteriously disappeared a little over three months ago."

April then spit out the mouthful of tea she had taken in as the pictures of the missing teens appeared on the screen.

"If you have seen any one of these boys, the N.Y.P.D. urges you to call their hotline immediately."

April then moved her wide green eyes to the sleeping pile on her living room floor, and did everything she could stop herself from reaching for the phone.


	7. Chapter Seven:The Consort of Humanity

Chapter Seven: The Consort of Humanity

April awoke the next morning to silence, and it was so deafening, her ears begin to throb as she strained to hear her house guests. Then the images that had flashed across her television screen the night before resurface in her memory, and April jumped right out of her bed. After tying her orange terry cloth robe over her pajamas and grabbing an outfit together, April flung open her door and stared into her living room.

Her first thought after hearing the alarming silence was that the Turtles had all left, fearing they had seen their human faces on the news as she had. April was relieved to see the four boys still there, all visibly tired and lost in their own confused thoughts. Michelangelo had placed himself on his stomach just a few inches from the television, the volume turned very low as he watched cartoons. Raphael was stretched across on the couch, wearing only his black drawstring pajama pants, his arms crossed over his bare chest and his eyes staring into the ceiling. Donatello was sitting at the computer desk, his finger tapping on the mouse, and April sucked in a deep breath as he sat a glass of water down beside the hard drive.

April moved over to the long dining table and set down her clothes, watching Leonardo lift a tea bag out of a mug of steaming water and dunk it back down, and he repeated the process several more times, all while cradling his head in his left arm on the table. His large brown eyes seemed to be worlds away, almost as if he had no clue as to where or what he was doing, and the distant in his eyes frightened April. Leonardo then suddenly blinked and looked up at her.

"Good morning," Leonardo said softly, then let out the yawn that he had been holding.

"Morning," April replied as she sat down across from him. " Did you not sleep well?"

Leonardo lifted his head up and pushed his black wispy bangs away from his eyes. "Do you ever have one of those nights when you sleep so deep that the next morning you feel like you had no rest at all?"

April wrinkled her forehead as she thought of Leonardo's question. " Can't say that I have. Is that even possible?" She then noticed Leonardo had began to massage his temples, something that she had witnessed him and his brothers doing a lot lately. " Do you want some aspirin?"

"Already tried it." Leonardo lowered his head, his fingers still going in circles. " The pain... it feels like it's deep down inside, like it can't be reached by anything."

April leaned in closer to Leonardo and lowered her voice. "Did you find out anything from Karai yesterday?"

Leonardo sat back in his chair and sighed. "A little, but not enough to get us anywhere."

A rustle of fabric caught April's attention, and she watched Raphael move past them into the kitchen, stretching his arms above his head and popping his neck. He prepared a bowl of cereal, then brought it back over to the table, and April suddenly felt a blanket of tension in the air as Leonardo narrowed his eyes at his brother.

Raphael looked up at Leonardo, milk dripping from his spoon as it sat poised at his mouth. " What?"

"Don't play stupid with me." Leonardo growled. "You know _exactly_ '_what'_!"

April leaned away from the table, her face twisted in confusion. " Uh, guys? What is going on?"

Raphael slammed his spoon down and stood up. " I told ya, I'm not messin' around with her, okay? So, just back off!"

Leonardo also rose to his feet and shoved his forefinger into Raphael's face. " Don't you _dare_ lie to me! I know for a fact that you have been!"

"HEY!" April shouted as she jumped out of her chair and slammed her palms on the wooden surface. " What in the world is going on with you guys? Who are you talking about?" Leonardo and Raphael stared blankly back at the red hair across the table, their tense argument quickly forgotten.

"Huh?"

"What?"

The two then sat back down in their respective seats; Raphael went back to his cereal, Leonardo to his tea, and they both rubbed at the pain in their heads. April held her eyes on them for another minute, then gathered her clothes from the table and headed for the bathroom.

"I'll be in the shower." She said before shutting the door behind her.

"Looks like someone got up the wrong side of the bed this morning!" Michelangelo joked as he took April's vacated seat, then reached across the table and stole a marshmallow out of Raphael's cereal bowl.

"I don't why she yelled at us like that." Leonardo glanced at the closed door.

"Yeah, we were just sittin' here. We didn't do nothin'." Raphael said as he saw Michelangelo begin to reach across the table again, and he quickly smacked his brother's hand with his spoon.

"OW!" Michelangelo withdrew his hand, but forgot the sting as he started to talk again. "Hey, you know what? I've been doing _a lot_ of thinking about this whole thing, and you know what I think happened?"

Leonardo and Raphael both sighed heavily and shook their heads, giving Michelangelo both a 'Here we go,' and a low annoyed moan.

Michelangelo went on, ignoring his brothers lack of enthusiasm. " I think that we got sucked into some alternate dimension or something! You know, like that time Draco and that Ultimate Ninja dude used the Time Scepter on us and we got zapped to all those different places! Do you think that could have happened again?"

His blonde hair whipped back and forth as he looked between his brothers, but found Leonardo and Raphael shared the same unamused expression on their faces.

"Mike, please," Leonardo stood up, picking the chair up with him, and moved toward the living room. " My head aches bad enough as it is. Don't make it any worse."

"But I'm just saying-,"

" Alternate dimension..." Raphael also stood, grabbing his empty bowl and headed for the kitchen sink. "Moron."

"What are you up too, Donnie?" Leonardo placed the dining room chair next to his brother and peered at the computer screen.

"I've been using the Photoshop program to clean up that journal entry page I found." Donatello responded without looking away. " I think I've got it to where its actually legible." He moved the mouse pointer to the print icon, and Leonardo grabbed for the page just as the printer spit it out.

"Yeah, it a lot more clearer now." Leonardo scanned over the sloppy handwriting, then looked up, noticing that Raphael and Michelangelo had joined them, and that all three of his brothers were growing impatient.

"Oh, did you want me to read this _out loud_?" Leonardo then chuckled at his own joke, not surprised that no one else found the humor in it.

"You're a riot, ya know that?" Raphael slumped down to the floor, as did Michelangelo, and they listened intently as Leonardo read the page.

"'_October twenty-seventh: I feel the time has come. I must find out a way out before I, too, go insane. It is only now that I realize Stockman is only out for money and power. His greed is greater than the universe is vast, and he cares nothing for the world around him. It saddens me to have to leave. Stockman has a great scientific mind; a genius at what he can do. It is hard to believe I was once looked up him, wanting to be as great as he is. But, I must go. I must get out on my own and continue my own studies elsewhere, and I must leave my lab, my research, all of my findings behind. I don't know the exact reason why Stockman has decided to get rid of me. It might have to do with that Humanitarian Award I received just a month ago. I know Stockman had become jealous of all of the attention I got. He treated me more like an inferior instead of a colleague after that. Can I help it if the world can except kindness over madness? I just hope someone-' "_

"Someone what?" Michelangelo was now propped up on his knees, leaning over the paper in Leonardo's hands.

"It cuts off," Leonardo grabbed the original copy of the journal page and turned it over. "There's nothing after that. Either he started a new page or-"

"Or that _someone_ forced him to stop." Raphael finished, pounding his fist into his left hand.

"So, this guy, whoever he is, was Stockman's _partner_?" Leonardo gave Donatello a quizzical look.

"What do you think he meant by Stockman wanting to get _rid_ of him?" Michelangelo gulped.

"Do you _really _want it spelled out for ya, Mikey?" Raphael warned his anxious brother. "You know evil that guy is."

"So, how can we find out who this person is?" Leonardo watched as Donatello had already answered him by hitting the icon that connected to the Internet. They waited for the sounds of the modem to kick off, then the welcome screen appeared before them.

"Okay," Donatello moved the mouse across the screen to the 'Search' button and clicked on it. "Since he talks about winning a Humanitarian award, which would obviously be in the science field, and since we also have the month and the year, I'll do this." He then typed on the search bar:

_Science/Humanitarian Award/September/1999_

Donatello pressed 'Enter' with the mouse, and within seconds, another page popped up, but it only dampened their spirits.

"1,407,854 _pages_!" Donatello exclaimed. "I didn't think it would display _that_ many!"

"That's gonna take _forever_ to look though!" Raphael grumbled along with his brother as he fell over onto his back and held his aching forehead.

"Is there anyway to simplify it even more, Donnie?" Leonardo pushed on, not wanting to give up so easily. Donatello leaned back in the chair, his right hand pressed against his lips as he thought.

"Well, I could try this.." He went back to the keyboard and added two more words to the search bar:

_Science/Humanitarian Award/September/1999/Baxter Stockman_

They waited a little longer this time, their anticipation mirrored in Michelangelo as he crossed his fingers on both hands and squeezed his eyes together, and after another nerve wracking minute, the page reappeared with a much better result.

"Ten!" Donatello smiled proudly. "I am so good!" He scrolled the page down, stopping suddenly when something caught his eye.

"Look at that," Donatello reached up and pointed at the screen as he read along with the blue text. "_Young colleague of Dr. Baxter Stockman to receive award for his advancements in the field of neuroscience._"

"What's neu-neur-." Michelangelo stuttered, then gave up, knowing he couldn't repeat the word. "What the shell is that?"

"Neuroscience is the study of the human brain, Mikey," Donatello plainly stated. Raphael pushed himself up and a sudden shiver travel down his spine.

"What does the rest of the article say?" Leonardo motioned for Donatello to click on the blue line. Another page opened and Donatello took the liberty of reading to everyone this time.

"' _Dr._ _Richard Hamilton, a three year resident at the La Cosigna University of Neuroscience, has been selected out of thousands of fellow researchers to receive the honored International Humanitarian Award for his compassionate and outstanding advancements in the study of the human memory. His extraordinary accomplishments in treating Alzheimer's in senior citizens, and his work with the mentally ill have placed him high in the scientific field.'"_

"The dude sounds like he's really nice!" Michelangelo interrupted.

Donatello flashed his brother an annoyed look, then continued on. "' _Dr. Hamilton recently made the move from California to New York State, where he is currently working under the watchful eye of his mentor Dr. Baxter Stockman, who is himself a gifted bio-technologist.'"_ Donatello finished reading, then clicked the Internet off, feeling like he had enough fact finding for one day.

"So now what?" Raphael asked as he stood up.

"Do you really think this Dr. Hamilton had something to do with our turning-human thing, Donnie?" Leonardo sat back in the chair and folded his arms over his chest.

Donatello interlaced his fingers on the top of his head and blew out a long flow of air. "It might be possible, considering the information we just read. But how can we find him?"

Leonardo raised an eyebrow and gave his brothers a smug smile. "Stockman."

"What? Are ya crazy?" Raphael blurted out, his voice raising an octave. "And just how do ya expect to break into Shredder's place without our ninja skills, smart guy?"

Leonardo continued to hold his stance, and Raphael quickly caught on to what his brother was thinking.

"No way, Leo! Don't _even_ think about!" Raphael turned around and stomped the floor.

Donatello wrinkled his forehead as he lowered his hands. "Leo, you're not suggesting we get Karai to break us in, are you?"

"Dude, that is _crazy talk_!" Michelangelo used the back of Leonardo's chair to pull himself up to his feet.

"'Crazy' ain't the word for it, Mikey," Raphael spun around and pointed his finger at Leonardo. "It's down right _stupid_!"

"Look, I know you guys haven't been able to rely on her, and I don't blame you. I still have my doubts. But she's the only one who could get us to Stockman. You guys just have to trust me on this."

_"Trust_ you" Raphael moved closer to Leonardo. "Leo, the last time we tried to trust you is when you got us involved in that whole city wide war thing, and that freaked out ninja chick nearly took our shells apart! And how do ya know she ain't gonna be bringin' Shredder into this?"

Leonardo inhaled deeply and moved toward the windows, feeling the cool autumn breeze against his bare arms. "Karai may serve the Shredder, but she values her sense of honor. She's already given me information about our disappearance that night and I-,"

"Information!" Raphael grabbed Leonardo's shoulder and turned him around. "I knew ya were faking that whole sick thing yesterday! How in the _shell_ could you lie ta us and sneak off like that? She coulda killed ya just like that!"

"She wouldn't do that Raph!" Leonardo knocked his brother's hands away, his self control rapidly turning into anger. "She wants to help us! Why can't you just put your proud, hotheaded thoughts to the side and let her?" He watched as Raphael's nostrils flared, almost as if they were going to push out hot steam.

"Are ya stupid, Leo! Honor or not, she works for Shredder! Can't you get that though yer thick head?" Raphael's shouting grew in volume, causing Michelangelo to coward behind Donatello.

"So, are you just going to run out on us again, Raph?" Leonardo stepped into Raphael's face, not caring if his brother made the move to attack him. " It's clockwork with you anyway. I give an order, you get mad and run away. Do you even_ want_ to find out what happened to us, or do you not care?"

Raphael growled, then stomped into April's bedroom, and after a few minutes, he reappeared fully dressed, pulling a baggy black hoodie over his head.

"Yeah, okay, see Leo?" Raphael walked toward the front door of the apartment. " This is me leavin', just like before! Nothin' ever changes with me!" He pulled the door open, then turned back to his brothers. "And by the way, _Leo, _I do care. But not enough that I have ta get myself into somethin' I can't get out of!" And with that, the door slammed shut, and the walls around it rattled wildly.

"What was that?" April cautiously pulled back the bathroom door and walked into the living room.

"Uh, Raph went out for a walk." Michelangelo slowly slid up into Leonardo's vacated chair and tried to hide his apparent fearfulness.

"I was hoping you guys would stay here while I was gone." April pulled her hair up into a ponytail and grabbed her coat down from its hook on the wall.

"Why? Where are you going?" Donatello asked, taking note of the distressed look on his friends' face.

April looked blankly back at the young men in front of her, almost wanting to back out of her plan. "Uh, nowhere really. I just have something I need to take care of, that's all." She let out a nervous giggle as she grabbed the door handle, pushing herself through the door before she could think of changing her mind, and leaving her friends behind in a cloud of nervous tension.

* * *

A/N: WOW! I can't believe all of the awesome reviews I've been receiving! When I started this thing, I had no clue that it would turn out this big, but I'm glad everyone is enjoying this story. I just have to say thank you for the kind words that have been sent to me(_knocks on swelled head)_ and I just cannot say enough to everyone who had left a review, even the ones that haven't! My hit count is almost at 900! It's crazy! Thank you so much! Hope you enjoyed this chapter! 


	8. Chapter Eight:The Memory Remains

Chapter Eight: The Memory Remains

"Stupid Leo and his stupid honor!"

Raphael growled as he slammed his closed fist into the side of a blue mailbox, causing the old couple on the bench behind him to jump in surprise.

"Why does he always gotta throw that honor crap in my face?" Raphael's thoughts flew out of his mouth in a loud roar, and he brought his closed fist back up to his left hand and resuming pounding into it. "I'd like ta throw some _honor_ in _his_ face!"

A small whimper made Raphael stop his pacing, and he offered the older man and woman an uneasy smile and a nervous chuckle.

"Uh, sorry."

The older couple responded by scooting down the bench farther away from the angry teen, and Raphael just let out a long, exasperated sigh as he looked down the nearly empty street to see the city bus he had been waiting on finally pulled up to the curb. He allowed the old couple to board first, which they did in a very hasty manner, then Raphael moved to the very back seat and leaned up against the window, drawing his knees up onto the squeaky blue vinyl. He laid his head back and closed his eyes, trying to block out the nuisance in his temples, but it only got worse when the bus hit a bump and the back of his head met the window. Raphael growled again, moving around to face forward as his fingers kneaded the ache away.

"Having a bad day?"

Raphael slowly raised his line of sight up the seat in front of him and he instantly connected to a very familiar pair of ice blue eyes.

"You again?" He grumbled, smiling slightly as Carrie's bottom lip dropped a little.

"You act like you're not happy to see me. What's up with that?" Carrie scooted into the aisle and whipped around into Raphael's seat. "Are you still mad about the other day?"

"Naw, I know why ya did it. Your brother was sittin' right there." Raphael then inhaled sharply, realizing that the words that had just exited his mouth were not his own nor was it what he was even thinking.

_What the shell is goin' on? Whose voice was that?_ His thoughts were then interrupted again as Carrie nuzzled up against his shoulder, her blonde hair tickling the side of his face.

"I wish we didn't have to hide from Jonathan." Carrie said with a sigh. "I thought you guys were, like, best friends. I don't see why it's so wrong for us to see each other." She slid her long fingers into Raphael's hand and interlaced them with his. "So, are you going to tell me where you guys have been hiding out?"

"Okay! That's enough of that!" Raphael finally found his own voice and pushed Carrie few inches away from him. He then braced himself for an angry reaction, but instead found himself staring into the tears that formed in her eyes.

"Look, I'm sorry," he began as he rubbed his forehead. "But I ain't got any idea who ya are and-,"

Carrie then watched as the auburn haired teen beside of her grabbed his head into his palms and let of a low growl. She cautiously placed her hand onto his back and leaned over with him.

"Damon? Are you okay?"

The teen suddenly sat back up and blinked around at his surroundings. His hard facial features had smoothed out, as did the tension his body had been carrying. His soften brown eyes turned toward Carrie and she jumped in surprise when the boy grabbed onto her shoulders. The boy's accent had also weakened, but his pitch grew into a crazed panic as he spoke.

"Carrie, listen to me! That teacher is _completely_ _crazy_! He took us to some place in Jersey and did something to us!"

Carrie breathing stopped completely as she stared into his friend's eyes. "Damon, what-,"

"You need to go to the cops and tell them where we are! You gotta help us!" The boy let go of Carrie and grabbed his head, pulling at his hair as the pressure grew. "There's somebody in my head! He can hear him! He's trying to push me out! Please! Stop it!"

Carrie fell out of the seat as the teen screamed in pain and slammed his head into the back of the seat in front of him. She jumped to her feet and ran down the aisle, ignoring the shouts from the driver as she neared the bus doors. The vehicle came to screeching halt, and the driver allowed Carrie to get off, and the stunned passengers watched out of the windows as Carrie raced down the street. When she had disappeared from sight, they all turned back to the disheveled teen in the back seat, who was in the process of pulling his back together and securing it with a hair tie.

"My stop, already? That was fast. I musta fell asleep." Raphael grumbled, then noticed all of the eyes on him.

"What? Ain't ya ever seen a guy do his hair before? Sheesh!" He then stood up, brushing aside the dizziness and ache in his head, and he moved down the aisle and out onto the sidewalk.

The tires of the bus spun uncontrollably as the driver pulled away from the curb, leaving Raphael to cough in a cloud of black smoke.

" Man, someone musta ticked him off real good!" Raphael laughed, then turned to his left, looking up at the street sign above him. "I'm almost ta the warehouse. I can't wait ta get home so I can sleep off this headache."

As he walked down the almost deserted street, another pair of eyes watched him from an alley a few feet away, their dilated brown irises burning a fiery rage into Raphael's back. Then, they disappeared silently into the darkness of the alley.

* * *

Donatello sighed as he checked his watch for the hundredth time, lifting his impatient gaze to the ashy tiled ceiling above them. The fingers on his right hand tapped in a slow wave on the smooth white table top under them while his left arm was bent over the back of the red booth. Across from him, Michelangelo had made himself comfortable by stretching across the entire length of the booth and he was keeping himself occupied by blowing at the layered blonde bangs that fell over his eyes. He heard Donatello sigh again, and he jolted upright, jumping at the chance to keep his brother occupied as well.

"Hey, Donnie! Do you wanna know what I think-,"

Donatello's fingers jerked up into the air as he pushed his open palm into his hyper brother's face. " No, I really _don't_ want to hear about your little 'alternate dimension theory', Mikey."

Michelangelo sunk down in the cushiony red material, the freckles coming together as he wrinkled his nose in disgust, but the young teen knew better than to give up so easily.

"Hey, Donnie! Who do I look like?"

Donatello turned his eyes from the crowd of people that crammed into the tiny restaurant and arched a brown eyebrow. " I beg your pardon?"

"You know! Like, Leo looks like Keanu Reeves in the movie_ Point Break_!"

"Oh, brother!" Donatello covered his face with hand and shook his head. "Speaking of which, what is taking Leo so long?"

Michelangelo nodded, setting down his glass of soda after taking a long drink. "Yeah, I thought Karai had some kind of 'Leo antenna'. She always seems to know where he is." Donatello then braced himself as Michelangelo's eyes grew bigger.

"Maybe she's _stalking_ him!"

"Mikey, only_ you_ would think of something like that." Donatello shook his head and turned his attention back to absorbing the Fifties era diner they had agreed to meet in. As he studied the black and white tiles that covered the walls and ran his eyes across the bright red bar that matched the booths, Donatello shuddered as an uneasy feeling swept over him.

"Have we ever been in here before?" Donatello asked his brother without turning his head. Michelangelo turned his gaze around the restaurant before answering.

"Uh, I don't think we have. But- it feels-,"

"But it feels like we have, doesn't it? Feels like we've been here _a lot _of times." Donatello finished for him. His eyes landed on a slightly tarnished jukebox in the back corner and the tiny annoying pulse in his brain began to escalate. "2G."

"Huh?" Michelangelo let the straw slip out of his mouth. "What the shell is 2G?"

Donatello didn't answer as he slid out of the booth and walked over to the jukebox, fished a quarter out of his pocket and deposited it into the coin slot. Without even thinking, his index finger punched a button, and he slowly made his way back to the booth. Michelangelo looked up at the speakers above their heads as the slow music began, and his face quickly twisted in confusion as he recognized the song: _The Dance_ by Garth Brooks.

"Since when did you start listening to country music, Donnie?" Michelangelo kept his eyes to the ceiling and waited for a response. "Donnie?"

A quiet sobbing noise sent Michelangelo's eyes back to the table, where he found his brother cradling his head in his folded arms, his back rising and falling rapidly as he cried. Michelangelo began to climb out of the booth when Donatello raised his head, the tears streaming down his flushed cheeks.

"Why did they have to die, Alex?" He wiped fiercely at his face with the sleeves of his brown suede jacket.

No sound came from Michelangelo's gapping mouth, but he continued to hold his gaze to the crying teen in across from him.

"This song, don't you remember?" He lifted his finger upwards to the speaker. " They played this song at the funeral. It was _their _song." He lowered his back down into the safety of his arms and inhaled deeply.

"Uh, it'll...be...uh, okay, uh, dude," Michelangelo patted the top of the boy's head softly as he darted his eyes around the diner. "Come on, Leo! Where are you? I'm getting _really_ freaked out!" Just then, the chimes rang above the doors and Michelangelo felt relieved as Leonardo quickly moved into the booth beside of him.

"Hey! Johnny Utah! So you finally decided to show up?" Michelangelo asked as he narrowed his blonde eyebrows. "We've been sitting here for like an hour now!"

"Sorry, I...," Leonardo brought his fingers to his right temple and cringed at the pain. "An hour? I wasn't gone that long, was I?"

"An hour and fifteen minutes, to be exact."

Michelangelo turned back to Donatello, who was now sitting upright and tapping his watch, as if nothing was out of the ordinary. Leonardo leaned closer to his brother and studied the faint red lines that ran down his face.

"Donnie, have you been _crying_?"

Donatello took a small sip from his sweaty red glass and sat it back down into the puddle of condensation. "No. Why do you ask?"

"Yes you were!" Michelangelo shouted, jumping to his feet as he pointed his finger at Donatello, then looked back at Leonardo, his words racing out of his mouth. "He was sitting there, then he got up, then he turned on this depressing country music, then he was-," Michelangelo stopped talking, made an over the top weeping noise, then continued. "And...and he called me Alex, just like that lady at the mall did, then-,"

"Maybe we should videotape this and play it back it slow motion." Donatello said as he took another drink.

"All right, Mikey. Calm down." Leonardo grabbed his brother's arm and pulled him back into the booth. "Are you sure that didn't happen, Donnie?"

"Honestly, I don't remember doing or saying _any_ of that!" Donatello rubbed the back of his neck, wincing as the pain traveled down into his spine. "Did you find Karai?"

"Yes," Leonardo slumped down into the booth and subconsciously played with a discarded straw paper. "It took a lot of convincing, but she's agreed to get us in tonight."

"Convincing, huh?" Michelangelo chuckled. "What did you have to do?" He pushed his pink lips together and made kissing noises. "Pucker up, bro!"

Leonardo took a deep breath then flung Michelangelo a dirty look, which then found its way to Donatello.

"Sorry." Donatello cleared his throat and pushed himself out of the booth. " Okay, so if we've going tonight, I'll need to get some things from the lair."

"And we'll need a plan, just in case Karai doesn't come through for us." Leonardo shoved Michelangelo to his feet, then pushed his way around them and out of the door. As they gathered on the bustling sidewalk, Donatello watched Leonardo turn his head from side to side for a few minutes before speaking up.

"Leo?"

"Where were we going again?" Leonardo asked, running his hand through his hair.

"Uh, the _lair_!" Michelangelo answered.

"Right." Leonardo looked down the busy streets again, then turned back to his brothers.

"And where is it at, exactly?"

Donatello scratched his head in confusion. "Where's _what_?"

"Whatever he just said." Leonardo replied pointing in Michelangelo's direction.

Michelangelo shrugged. " Dude, I don't even know what you're talking about."

Leonardo sighed, brushing his hair out of his face as he began to walk away. " Maybe we should just go back to April's."

"Good idea." Michelangelo happily responded, but pulled Donatello closer to him as they began to follow, and whispered into his brother's ear.

"Who's April?"

* * *

Across town at the 16th precinct station of the New York State Police, April tapped her manicured fingernail on a high marbled desktop as she waited for an officer to assist her. She had watched many pass by her without acknowledging her presence, and she was quickly losing her patience.

"Maybe if I dangled a donut on the end of a string..." April thought out loud as she aimlessly swung a pen that was chained to the desk back and forth. "Or maybe I should just rob the bank across the street."

Suddenly the front doors of the station house flew open and April watched as a horrified young girl ran to the desk and began to slam the bell viciously.

"Please! Someone! I need some help!"

Right away April noticed the girl's tear-stained cheeks, and her blonde hair was carelessly tossed around. "Honey, are you okay?"

The girl turned her blue gaze to the tall redhead next to her and she tired to speak through her short breaths. "Please! I need help! Something has happened to my friends."

A female cop, the one who just days ago had led April to her former mutant 'nephews', appeared and leaned over the desk. " Just calm down, dear, and tell me what's going on."

"My friends, those four guys that have been missing! They're in trouble! I need someone to help me find them!" The tears reappeared in the girl's eyes and she wrapped her arms around her chest as she shuddered from the sobs. " Please."

"Look, sweetie, we are doing everything we can to find those poor boys." The officer said as she tried to offer the shaken girl a smile. "If you need someone to talk to, I can go get one of our family counselors-,"

"No! I don't need that!" The girl growled then spun around on her heels. "Just forget it!"

She shoved the doors back open and stood in the middle of the sidewalk, staring at the concrete under her shoes as a puddle formed from her tears.

"Excuse me?"

The girl turned around, coming face to face with the redhead that had spoken to her inside of the station.

"I'm sorry, but I couldn't help but hear that your _friends_ are missing. Is that right?" The blonde nodded, but said nothing as the older woman continued talking. " Well, my _friends_ are kind of missing too, and I think we could help each other." The redhead then reached her right hand out to the teen girl and smiled.

"I'm April, by the way."

"Carrie," The girl spoke and relaxed at April's warm smile. "So, you know something about this?"

April sighed as she placed her hand on Carrie's shoulder and walked with her down the sidewalk. "Do I ever, and you're not going to _believe_ the story I'm about to tell you!"

* * *

_Sorry about the long delay folks! I was out of town at an archery competition. I know I keep ending on these little cliffhangers,and I promise thenext chapter will give you tons moreinfo. ButI'm still gonnakeep you guessing to the veryend! Makes things fun that way, I think! Happy reading!_


	9. Chapter Nine:The Pieces Begin To Fall

Chapter Nine: The Pieces Begin To Fall

As the young girl followed April up the stairs, Carrie couldn't help but give the redhead next to her a wide-eyed look of confusion as she watched the older woman dig through her purse for her apartment keys.

"Okay, so, what you're telling me is that my friends are actually your friends, who just happen to be giant talking turtles, and they all vanished around the same time, and now these turtle guys are beginning to forget who they are and are thinking and acting like my friends?"

April looked up from her purse and tilted her head to the side. " Something like that." She inserted the key into the apartment door, turned it, then pushed the door back. "Hey, guys! I'm back! I think I might have found someone who can help-," The girls swung their heads back and forth, but found nothing but an empty living room.

"...us." April dropped her keys back into her purse and shook her head. " I told those guys not to leave! Now I know how Splinter feels when they don't listen to him!"

"Who's Splinter? A giant talking _beaver_ or something?" Carrie laughed at her joke as she placed herself at the dining room table.

"A _rat_, actually," April smiled and giggled, taking a seat across from Carrie. "And I don't think he's going to be very happy when he finds out his kids flew the coop." She reached back into her purse, and Carrie wrinkled her forehead at the curious looking compact turtle shell April held in her hand. April then flipped the shell open and punched a series of buttons, and the echoing ringing noise made Carrie realized that the strange thing in April's hands was a phone.

_Either this turtle thing is actually real, or this lady is off in the head!_ Carrie thought to herself as she watched April's face twist in frustration as she closed the phone and shoved it back into her purse. She was about to speak when the front door flung open suddenly and all the girls could see was a flash of blonde hair fly into the apartment before the door slammed shut.

"Michelangelo!" April stood up and placed her hands on her hips. " I told you guys not to leave the apartment!" She then noticed how heavy the boy was breathing and the frightened look in his eyes. "Mikey, what is going on?"

"There is...this HUGE rat thing...it grabbed us into an alley, then made us come here!" Michelangelo darted across the carpeting and ducked behind the red arm chair. "Don't open that door! It's gonna get me!"

April rolled her eyes. "Good grief." She walked over to the door and pulled it open, finding Master Splinter standing in the hallway with Leonardo , Donatello and Raphael

"Don't let that thing in here! It's gonna eat us!" Michelangelo covered his eyes and shivered in fear.

"Come here, you moron!" Raphael sauntered across the living room, grabbed Michelangelo's shirt collar and pulled the frightened teen to his feet.

Carrie watched Raphael intently as he chewed out his baby brother, fearful to the fact that the boys acted nor sounded nothing like the teens she had known for so long. A cold chill ran across her, and she couldn't help but hold herself tightly. Her blue eyes then locked on Leonardo as he entered the apartment and walked over to break up his fighting brothers. Carrie bolted out of her seat and jumped right into the unsuspecting boy's arms.

"Jonathan!" Carrie squeezed Leonardo tightly. "I've been so worried about you! It's been so lonely at home without you!"

Leonardo froze, not knowing what to say or do, just held a bewildered and terrified look on his face. Carrie pulled away and looked into his eyes, searching for something that signified to her that he remembered who she was.

"Jon, it's me, Carrie, your little sister. Don't you recognize me?"

Leonardo broke his gaze and looked at his brothers, who in return just shrugged their shoulders. He then looked over at April and slightly narrowed his brow.

"What is she doing here, April? You know you're taking a big risk bringing someone else into this."

"Please don't be upset with me." April moved from the table and joined the crowd in the living room, then she placed a consoling arm around Carrie's shoulders. "There's a reason I brought her here. She knows who you guys _really_ are, and I think she can help us find out who did all of this."

"Who we _really_ are..." Leonardo repeated, his eyes moving to Splinter, who in turn moved over to the table with his head bowed sadly. April felt the instant tension in the air and quickly pushed the five teens together.

"Okay, you guys make yourselves comfortable and I'll make some hot chocolate."

Carrie watched helplessly as April hurried into the kitchen, and it wasn't too long before Carrie felt the exact opposite of what April had implied.

"Uh, so, um..."

Raphael grabbed her tiny shoulders and pushed her down into the armchair. "All right, blondie. Start talkin'."

April set a cup of hot tea in front of Splinter, offering him a smile to comfort his aching heart.

"Thank you, Miss O'Neil."

"No problem." April took a seat next to the old rat and patted his hand. " We'll find the guys. Don't worry."

Splinter sighed heavily, glancing back at the boys. "We must, for I fear if we do not find them soon, and the memories of those four come back, my sons will be lost forever."

"Okay, uh, so," Carrie's eyes darted around the boys who stood in front of her. "Where do you want me to start?"

"The beginning would _probably_ be a good place," Raphael grumbled sarcastically, but calmed down after Leonardo grabbed his shoulder.

"Wherever you feel comfortable," Leonardo pushed Raphael to the floor and waited for Donatello and Michelangelo to sit before he, too, sat down.

"Okay," Carrie then giggled nervously. "Uh, this is _really _weird telling you guys about yourselves."

"If it makes you feel any better, just pretend we're someone else, since that's basically what's going on." Donatello said with a reassuring smile, and Carrie took a deep breath, then spoke.

"Well, you guys have been best friends since, like, grade school. We all live in the same neighborhood, except Alex. He lives a few blocks away."

"Which is me, right?" Michelangelo shoved his finger to his chest. "I kinda figured that out since I've been called that twice now."

"Yes." Carrie pulled her legs up into the chair and readjusted herself. "Anyway, the four of you are inseparable. You guys go everywhere together, do everything together. You're basically attached at the hip. You're favorite spot to hang out is the Red Line Drive-In, which is that Fifties era diner downtown."

"See!" Donatello gave Michelangelo a small nudge in the side. "Yeah, me and Mikey were discussing that while we were in there today."

"Well, what about our families?" Leonardo asked as he leaned closer to Carrie, his chin resting on his knuckles.

Carrie made an uneasy face, and hesitated before talking again. "That might be something you don't want to know, let alone remember."

"Why? How bad could it be?" Raphael propped his elbow on the chair cushion next to Carrie's folded legs.

"Well, for one thing, _your_ mother is a heroine addict." Carrie then pointed her finger and went down the line. "James' parents died in a car accident, Alex's mother is an overbearing stage mom who uses her son for her own personal glory, and our parents-," Carrie stopped, hating the scared look that shone in Leonardo's eyes. " Our father is an abusive alcoholic, and our mother..."

"What?" Leonardo had leaned over so far, he placed his palms on the carpet to keep himself from falling on his face.

"She's in the hospital right now, in a coma, and suffering from severe injuries that were inflected by our dad."

Leonardo let out the breath he was holding and jumped to his feet, not wanting to let his brothers or Carrie see the tears that had crept up. He placed his aching forehead into his right hand and closed his eyes, leaving his ears open to the conversation behind him.

"When was the last time you saw any of them?" Donatello asked, knowing Leonardo wasn't in the mood for a Q&A session any more.

"I don't know," Carrie shrugged. " Like, three months ago. I remember that morning because Jon was saying something about Mr. Hamilton taking you guys away for a few weeks for some school science project."

Donatello couldn't help but laugh at Carrie's remark. "Some '_science project'_, I like that one!" He then silenced himself. " Wait, did you say _Mr. Hamilton, _as in _Dr. Richard Hamilton_?"

"Yeah, he's our high school science teacher. I didn't know that was his first name, I don't have his class until next year, but I do know that he watches over you four like you were his own kids!"

"Ya think it's the same guy that worked with Stockman?" Raphael asked, scooting closer to the chair.

"I'm pretty sure. That's too much of a coincidence if it's not!" Donatello began to ask another question, then raised an eyebrow as Raphael laid his head on Carrie's lap, and she began to play with his long hair. Michelangelo had also noticed and giggled loudly from behind his hands.

"You guys got something going on?"He waved his finger between the two. Carrie looked at Leonardo, then lowered her voice to a whisper.

"Me and Damon had been dating, but my brother doesn't know. He's been trying to keep us apart."

"Why?" Raphael asked, closing his eyes and enjoying the soft petting.

"Well, even though you guys are good friends, Jon has this big brother protection thing going on, and since Damon is a big time trouble maker, Jon thinks you're not good enough for me."

"Geesh, I think your brother needs ta chill out and let things go." Raphael laughed.

"Oh, do I... Damon?"

Raphael's eyes flew open, and the four of them looked up at Leonardo, his brow and his fists clenched so tightly together that it seemed as if he was going to physical exploded.

"Did I mention the part about Jon having a bad temper?" Carrie asked sheepishly as she braced herself

"Uh, oh." Michelangelo managed to mutter before finding himself face down in the carpet as Leonardo lunged at Raphael, grabbing the surprised teen by his neck and applying pressure to his wind pipe.

"How dare you lie to me like that, right to my face! I told you to stay away from my sister!" He then pulled Raphael up closer and growled deep in his throat. "Do I have to beat it into your head for you to understand!"

"Leo.." Raphael clawed at the furious teen's squeezing grip. "Leo...stop..."

"No!" Carrie sprung out of the chair and pushed on her brother's chest. "Stop it, Jon! Let him go!"

Raphael had finally pulled the hands off of his neck and held then inches from his face, the angry teen above him still pushing down with everything ounce of stamina he had. "Somebody better get this guy offa me before I _really_ hurt him!"

Relief came when April and Splinter each grabbed the boy's arms and pulled him back, allowing Raphael to move away and calm his own temper down. Splinter took the still-fuming teen into the kitchen and stared deep into the boy's eyes.

"Leonardo, I know you can hear me. You must came back through. You must hold on to what little thoughts you have left."

The teen then dropped to his knees as he screamed out. "No! Get it out of my head!" Carrie rushed to her brother's side and wrapped her arms around him.

"It's okay, Jon. We're going to help you! You have to let this other guy come back through! Please!"

Then in a brief moment, Carrie found a connection in her brother's eyes, and she couldn't stop the tears from falling. They sat there on the kitchen floor for another minute before Leonardo found his voice and allowed Carrie to help him to his feet.

"What...what happened?" Leonardo stared fearfully at the terrified faces of his family, and knew right away something bad had just occurred, and he was the one who had caused it.

"I can't handle this anymore. I can't...I can't take it."

"Calm down, Leo," April took hold of his shoulder and squeezed. "It's okay."

"No, no it's_ not_ okay!" Leonardo pushed himself free of Carrie and April and moved toward the door. "I'm tired of the dreams, the voices, the constant and agonizing pain in my head! This isn't how it was meant to be, and I'm_ tired _of not being who I was_ meant_ to be!" His hand seized the bronzed door knob and he jerked the door open as he turned to face his brothers. " I want answers, and I'm still going to find them, whether or not you guys think it's bad idea."

Raphael moved away from the window and joined Leonardo at the door, placing a reassuring hand on his brother's shoulder. "We all want answers, Leo. I'm with ya, even if I do think this whole plan of yours is whacked."

Leonardo mirrored Raphael's smile, then let it grow as Donatello and Michelangelo joined them.

"Please take care, my sons." Splinter bowed his head and watched as the four disappeared into the darkness of the stairwell.

* * *

Karai sat cross-legged at the edge of the small fish pond outside of the three story Japanese styled mansion that was the home of her master. Her fingers flickered across the water, startling the multi-colored Koi and causing them to scatter around the pond. She glanced up the many Foot ninjas who were making their nightly rounds inside the tall gates of the mansion property, taking note of how many there were and timing their perimeter walks carefully. Not one mistake could be made tonight, for her life was on the line, and Karai knew her master would make her suffer dearly for her treachery.

A small splashing noise brought Karai's line of sight back to the pond, just as another small rock flew over the tall fence and landed a little closer to her, sprinkling her finger tips with water. She slowly stood, making sure the sentries weren't watching, then launched herself up the fence, digging her bare feet into the brick for support.

"Ah, you have come." Karai's face showed no emotion as she looked down at the four darkly dressed teens under her. "Quickly, to the front gate. I have a Foot uniform for each of you."

"What!" Raphael whispered loudly. "There ain't no _way_ I'm dressed up like one of them!"

"You will need to disguise yourself as one of them in order to infiltrate my Master's house." Karai narrowed her green eyes, echoing the look Raphael was giving her. "If you do not choose to, then I wish you good luck in finding what you seek."

"No! Karai, wait!" Leonardo held up his hand, stopping Karai from disappearing back down the fence. "We'll do whatever you ask."

Karai pushed back the smile on her face, brought on by the desperation in Leonardo's eyes. "Very well." She pushed herself down to the ground and moved quickly across the brick patio to the large gate, glancing around once more before opening the tall wooden doors. Leonardo entered first, holding his index finger to his lips as Raphael and Michelangelo slipped in behind him. Donatello took a giant leap inside, his left foot catching the edge of the brick wall, and he fell to the concrete with a loud thud.

"Nice going, Donnie!" Michelangelo reached down and pulled his brother to his feet.

"Well, maybe they didn't hear anything," Donatello shrugged, brushing the grass off of his sleeve, but his theory was proven wrong when the Foot sentries began to shout in Japanese.

"Quickly! This way!" Karai charged for the front doors to the house, the boys right on her heels, and did not pause for a moment as she shoved open the towering red oak doors. The boys filed in behind her, and Karai pushed the door back without making a sound. She then moved to a large potted fern and pulled out the promised Foot uniforms. The teens pulled the uniforms over their dark clothing, and once they were done, Karai waved them on as they descended the staircase into the basement of the house. After running down a long hallway, and having to stop and pull Donatello back up a few more times, Karai placed them all in front of a fake wooden paneling. She pushed the large Foot symbol that hung on the wall and the paneling lifted up, vanishing into the ceiling above.

"Since it is very late, there should not be anyone here to trouble us." Karai walked them through the heavy metal doors and into the vast underground Foot Tech lab.

"I thought that evil_ never_ slept," Raphael said, glad that Karai couldn't see his wicked smile under the black mask.

"Dr. Stockman is the only one who stays in the lab." Karai continued, ignoring Raphael's remark. "In his present condition, he has no need for sleep."

Donatello nodded as he looked around the spacious lab, his fading memory flashing bits and pieces of his last personal encounter with the evil scientist. "I still can't believe what Shredder did to Stockman. Nobody deserves a life like that."

"Is that _sympathy_ I hear?" A voice rang out, the source concealed in the dimmed lighting. Karai stopped the four boys and they watched as the infamous Dr. Baxter Stockman floated out of the shadows and placed his glass cylinder 'body' in front of the visibly startled group of teens.

"I don't usually get much of that around here these days."

"Geesh, Donnie, I just thought you were exaggerating when you said he was brain in a jar!" Michelangelo gulped loudly, hiding behind Raphael as he stared at the remnants that floated in the container.

"Ah, Karai." Stockman's hologram head faked a welcoming smile. "Showing some new recruits around? Doesn't the Shredder have enough of these pathetic excuses for ninjas?"

Karai gave Stockman no response and instead turned to Leonardo. "I have done my part. I will wait while you conduct your business. But you must be quick about it."

Leonardo bowed in recognition, then faced Stockman as he pulled the black face mask off. His brothers followed suit, and Stockman couldn't help but raise a computerized eyebrow.

"The recruits are getting younger these days. Isn't it past your bed time, little man?"

"Enough with the jokes, Stockman," Leonardo threw the face mask down and moved closer to the water incased brain. "Now, I know we've been bitter enemies for a long time, and the four of us would _never_ seek your assistance under _normal_ circumstances," Leonardo looked down at his gloved hand and flexed his five fingers. "But we are willing to push all of that aside. We need yourhelp."

"What!" Stockman's voice rose an octave. "You _dare _to come down into _my _lab and ask for my help? And, _why_, exactly, should I help a group of young teenage punks? I don't even know who you are!"

Donatello stepped forward, taking a place beside his brother. " But you _do_ remember a certain fellow scientist by the name of Richard Hamilton, right?"

Stockman leaned back, his eyes wide in shock, but promptly brushed the look of surprise off his face. "Even If I did, what business is it of yours?"

"This isn't going to be easy, Leo."

Leonardo sighed as he noticed the worried look on Donatello's face. "I know Donnie, but we can't give up, no matter what."

"Wait a minute!" Stockman interrupted Leonardo and leaned his holographic face closer to the black haired teen. "Your names, those voices..."

Leonardo held his ground as the surprised expression returned on Dr. Stockman's face, but it was suddenly taken over by an evil laughter that rang throughout the Foot Tech lab. He gave his brothers an uneasy glance as stepped back away from the sickening giggling.

"He did it!" Stockman shouted through his laughter. " That no good, virtuous ex-partner of mine! I can't _believe_ he finally did it!"

* * *

_Okay, so I didn't give too much away! Where's the fun in that? I like to keep people guessing! Once again, thanks for all of the great reviews! I appreciate it! Stay tuned for the dramatic conclusion, plus a twisted alternate ending! Happy reading!_


	10. Chapter Ten:WLU:Part One

A/N: _After three weeks of family vacations and a long battle which my arch-nemesis, Writer's Block, I finally sat myself down to type, and I type I did. My ending turned out to be almost eighteen pages long! So, I've decided to chop it up into three parts. I've posted Part One and Two. Part Three, the epilogue, and the alternate ending will be up within the next few days. Once again, thanksto everyone who's read and reviewed,and I hopemy ending doesn't seemed too dragged out. Enjoy!

* * *

_

Chapter Ten:

What Lies Underneath: Part One

Donatello threw the bottled-up scientist a puzzling look as the laughter continued on.

"What do you mean by that, Stockman? _What_ did he finally do?"

The maddening laughter came to an abrupt stop and the computerized face glared in Donatello's direction. "I have nothing to say to any of you! You four are one of the many reasons I am in this wretched state! What makes you think I would tell you anything?" An evil smile spread across Stockman's face as he propelled his glass body to a nearby computer panel. "I should just summon Master Shredder and let him decide what to do you with you." As one of his motorized arms reached for a large red button, the blade of a sword clashed with Stockman's metal fingers.

"You will do no such thing, Dr. Stockman." Karai replied in a cold tone. "I will not hesitate to finish what my Master had started."

"Please, Dr. Stockman!" Leonardo moved over to the panel, nodding to Karai to pull back her sword. "I'm begging you! You have to tell us what Dr. Hamilton did!"

"Never!" Stockman floated away again, heading back to his dark corner. "I refuse to help any of you! Now leave before I wake the entire house and see that _all_ of you are destroyed!"

Leonardo watched Stockman disappear and his head hung down in shame, his brothers copying his mood.

"It's hopeless!" Raphael cried out, throwing his hands into the air. "We're gonna stuck like this forever!"

Karai's green eyes traveled along the sadden faces of her former enemies, and she suddenly felt an ache in her heart. "Leonardo, there might be a way to . . . _persuade_ Dr. Stockman. However, it is a very rash and inhumane way, but it does seem to work with Hun and my Master."

Leonardo sighed heavily. "I guess anything is worth a try."

"Yeah, you're not exactly gettin' ta him with the nice guy beggin' approach, Leo." Raphael remarked, his fingers working on his aching temples.

Karai reached into a compartment on the panel and pulled out a small, blue remote. She gently placed the device into Leonardo's awaiting palm, quickly turning her blushing face away from the thankful smile on the teen's face.

"What does that thing do anyway?" Michelangelo studied the device from the safety of Raphael's back.

"Looks like we're going to find out." Leonardo led his brothers into the darkness of the lab, determined more than ever to find the answers they needed.

"No! No! Please! Stop!"

Leonardo leered at the scientist as he paced in front of the glass-encased brain, watching the massive pinkish-gray organ convulse from the latest round of electric shock. Across the room, Donatello sat crossed-legged on the floor while Raphael and Michelangelo sat in two high-backed office chairs.

"Leo's been goin' at that for an hour now, and that freak is _finally_ givin' in?" Raphael shook his head in disgust.

"I don't see how Stockman could still be alive after all of that!" Donatello grabbed onto the computer desk behind him and pulled his thin frame up. "Each shock delivers about 12,000 volts, and he received about ten times that!"

"I'm sorry that I had to take such drastic measures, Stockman," Leonardo apologized as his brothers joined his side. " I had no other choice."

Stockman curled up his lips and sneered. "I'm sure you throughly enjoyed yourself."

"Enough chit chat!" Raphael pushed passed Leonardo and shoved his finger at Stockman's glass casing. "Now, start talkin', or I'm gonna take over and I won't be so nice about it!"

"No need to get testy about it, you long-haired punk!" Stockman brought his glass body down to the floor and sighed deeply, his false eyes burning a hole into the darkness in front of him.

"Richard Hamilton," the scientist hissed. "Even now I feel sick to my stomach when I hear that name."

"You don't have a stom-!" Michelangelo pointed out but was quickly cut off by Leonardo's hand across his mouth.

Stockman threw the blonde teen a dirty look before continuing. "It was nine years ago. I was on my way to make a name for myself in the scientific community. Fame and fortune were within my grasp! Then one day I received word that a young upstart from California was wishing to work with me, and I was very interested in his findings on stem cell research-,"

"What's that?"

A deafening silence filled the room as everyone turned to Donatello, who scratched at his short brown hair and shrugged.

"It's the extraction and reproducing of cells for cloning purposes, you feeble-minded idiot!" Stockman growled.

" Oh, okay." Donatello nodded, then noticed the blank stares he was receiving from his brothers. " What? You guys know I'm falling science class! This stuff goes right over my head!"

"If I may continue _uninterrupted_?" Stockman yelled, then scoffed at the brown haired teen. " And I thought you were the more intelligent one."

"So did we." Raphael said blankly as Donatello rubbed at his temples.

"The University sends Richard to me, and I was appalled by the fact that this brilliant and bright scientist was some twenty-two-year-old surfer punk who daydreamed about making the world a better place by curing the sick and mentally ill, which to me sounded like some ridiculous new age hippy idea! I tolerated his nice guy attitude for a long, long time, until I had stolen every piece of information he had discovered, which in turn put me light years ahead of the rest of my colleagues, and it allowed me to take all the credit, seeing as I was the elder scientist."

"How could you do something so heartless?" Leonardo curled his lips in disgust. "He spent all of that time helping the sick and you took everything from him!"

"Well, if you think me to be heartless, you will be pleased to know that it blew up in my face." Stockman sighed again. "All of that fame that I had wanted for so long slipped from my grasp when Richard received that idiotic humanitarian award for discovering a possible cure for memory loss in the elderly. But what really got to me was the fact that he _brushed it all away! _He didn't want the fame! He_ hated_ the publicity! The moron suddenly snapped one day, then hid himself in a small room within the walls of my research facility." Stockman lowered his eyes to the ground, and the former mutants could almost feel a sadness radiating from him.

"I never saw Richard much after that, but when I would pass him in the hallways, he would mumble like a mad man and he _constantly_ talked to himself. And as my lab grew and my genius was finally put into good use by a certain Japanese business tycoon, Richard would stay trapped in his little room, growing crazier by the day, breaking into morgues and stealing the dead to examine."

"Which would explain the pickled body parts Donnie found." Michelangelo spoke up, adding a gagging sound to the end of his sentence.

"Then one day, I decided to put an end to the madness, and with some help from Master Shredder, I got rid of that sick maniac and sealed up his little chamber of horrors."

"Yeah I bet ya got _rid_ of him!" Raphael crossed his arms over his chest and glared at the computerized head.

"I know what you may be thinking," Stockman snickered. "But I did _not_ have him killed. Putting an end to his life would have been much too easy for someone as crazy as he clearly was. I instead had Master Shredder destroy his reputation as a scientific genius, making everyone believe that he stole his ideas from others, and after Richard was shamed, I kicked him out into the streets, and I never saw nor heard from him since then."

Stockman paused, as if the loss of his partner weighed heavily on his absent heart, and the teens glanced at each other, not knowing what to say. The scientist then sneered, seeing his chance to make his move. He began to laugh again as he spoke, knowing that his enemies were unaware that he was moving closer to a control panel behind him.

" I would love to continue this trip down memory lane, but I'm afraid our little Q&A session is over!" He jerked his glass body around and slammed a mechanical hand down onto a panel of buttons, sending a deafening alarm screaming above their heads.

"Quickly!" Karai motioned to the four teen boys as they covered their ears. "We must leave! The sentries will be here any moment!" She led them down a narrow flight of stairs to

another secret wall panel, which led straight into the sewers.

"EWWW!" Michelangelo whined as he and his brothers stepped into the murky water. "There is no _way_ I'm walking through this!"

"I'm sorry I cannot show you the way out," Karai bowed to the teens. "I must go back and take care of Stockman's memory data to ensure that our conversation with him never existed."

Leonardo took a step forward and bowed gracefully in return. "Thank you so much for everything you have done, Karai. I am forever in your debt."

"No," Karai waved her hand. " This was something I owed to you, Leonardo. I wish you good luck in your quest."

"All right, already!" Raphael called out as he began to walk away. "Hurry up and kiss good-bye so we can leave!"

Leonardo narrowed his eyes at his brother, knocking into Raphael's shoulder as he pushed passed him through the dirty, brown tinted water. Raphael held back the smirk on his face and followed after him as Donatello and Michelangelo brought up the rear.

"Well, I'd say that little talk we had with Stockman was completely useless!" Michelangelo pointed out, throwing his arms into the air.

"I agree," Leonardo kept his eyes down to the water as he thought out loud. "Everything he said only raised more questions." He then stopped walking and turned to Donatello, who was glancing around at the moldy walls of the sewer tunnel. "Donnie, I know you've been reading up on stem cell research a lot lately. What can you tell us about it?"

Donatello brought his eyes back down to his black-haired brother. "Man, why does everyone think I know what that is?" He then quickly pointed to Michelangelo. "He's the genius of this group! Why don't you ask him?"

"Huh?" Raphael and Leonardo asked at the same time.

Michelangelo placed a hand on Donatello's extended finger and lowered it. "Uh, Donnie? Are you feeling okay?"

"And why do you guys keep calling me Donnie?" The teen reached for his head and held it in his open palms. " And why does my head hurt so much?"

"Well, this is great!" Raphael scoffed and stomped around, the water splashing up higher on his Foot uniform. " We have no idea what's goin' on and Mr. Egghead here decides ta have a mental episode!"

Leonardo sighed and grabbed Raphael's shoulder. " Calm down, Raph. Donnie, or whoever he is right now, isn't the only one who would know. April keeps up of this sort of thing too. We'll get her to do some research for us."

"In the meantime," Michelangelo said as they began walking again. "How are we gonna find the weirdo teacher guy? We don't even know where he lives!"

"Maybe Carrie might be able ta help us some more," Raphael shrugged. "She said these guys were close with him. They might of told her somethin'."

Leonardo came to a sudden stop, his brown eyes wide in a frightened look of shock. "New Jersey."

"New Jersey? Leo, I don't think going on a vacation would be the best thing to do right now." Michelangelo said, giving Leonardo the same confused look he had given Donatello.

" No! He lives in New Jersey! It's weird, but it's like I can see it." Leonardo's eyes stayed glued to the water, feeling a bit scared by the memories he was receiving in his mind's eye. "He lives . . . he lives down by a river."

"He wouldn't by any chance live in a van, would he?" Donatello joked and laughed, but stopped as he again caught weird looks from his brothers. "Never mind."

"Come on, " Leonardo motioned with his hand. "Let's get back to April's before we blank out and lose our way."

No sooner had Leonardo spoken when he felt a sudden pressure on his heel and he toppled forward, falling face first into the cloudy sewer water. Raphael grabbed him by the shoulders and jerked him back up, and Leonardo immediately narrowed his eyes to Donatello, who was on his hands and knees in the water below them.

"Sorry. Me and my big feet." Donatello smiled nervously and let out a small chuckle. Leonardo shook his head and began to walk away with Raphael. Michelangelo bent down and help the brown haired boy to his feet and they moved fast to catch up.

* * *

The wall clock in April's apartment had just struck midnight, and the five teenagers and Splinter gathered around the red head, all of them watching intently as her fingers flew across the keyboard.

"Stem cells . . . " April said out loud, unable to keep her thoughts in her head. "I never would have guessed that. It's been around for so long, and I never thought anyone had perfected it."

"That was the farthest thing from my mind too!" Donatello replied, relieved that he was somewhat back to his old self.

"I think _you_ were the farthest thing from your mind, Donnie!" Raphael said, half-jokingly.

"I don't remember any of those things I said. I really don't." Donatello rubbed at his aching forehead. "We've been having these episodes more and more. I'm afraid that if don't find Dr. Hamilton, that . . . that we might . . . forget . . . " His voice trailed off into nothing, but by the worried looks that surrounded him, Donatello knew that his brothers understood what he was getting at.

"Okay, is everyone ready for today's science lesson?" April broke through the uncomfortable silence and pointed a finger at the screen.

"We're not gonna be tested on this, are we?" Michelangelo joked and giggled as he turned to Donatello. " You might wanna take notes on this, bro. You know, just in case."

Donatello glared in his brothers' direction as Michelangelo's laughter increased, but it stopped abruptly when he received a smack on the back of his head from Raphael.

"OW! What?"

Leonardo sighed and shook his head. "Go ahead, April."

"Okay, Stem Cell research has been around practically since the invention of microscopes." April eyes went from the screen to the surrounding teens and the mutant rat. "The basic stem cell is the foundation for every organ, tissue and cell in the body. They are blank, meaning they can be programmed to perform any number of tasks. Stem cells are also self-sustaining, and can replicate themselves for long periods of time."

"Because of this, stem cells can be used to grow new organs and tissues to replace those that have been damaged or diseased. The process is called Cell Therapy, with is similar to the process of organ transplanting, only cells are replaced instead of the actual organ. Cell therapy is believed to be able to treat all debilitating diseases ranging from Alzheimer's, Parkinson's and diabetes, to diseases as severe as cancer."

"Okay, so with all of that in mind," Leonardo crossed his arms over his chest. "How exactly does it work?"

April turned back to the computer and used the mouse to scroll down the Internet page on the screen. "It says that before stem cells can be used, they have to be identified, which is hard in adult tissues, which contain thousands of various cells, and it apparently takes a _long_ time to do it. But once they are found, the extracted cells are implanted into the patient and they must 'learn' to function with the body's natural cells."

Donatello moved away from the computer, his eyes glued to the carpeting under his feet while he grabbed his chin in his right hand. "Okay, so then if Dr. Hamilton _had_ actually accomplished all of this, then he must have extracted stem cells from us, and injected them into the brains of these kids." Donatello lifted his head back up and wrinkled his forehead in confusion. "But, that can't be possible!"

"Why not?" Leonardo asked.

"Because stem cells are blank! If he took cells out of us, they would just function as normal brain cells." Donatello rubbed at his face with his hands, his frustration very apparent to everyone around him. " Don't you see? If that was the case, we, us, as mutant turtles, would not be in these bodies! Our memories would not be up here!" He pounded his forefinger into his temple, the pain under it increasing by the second.

April leaned back from the screen, her eyes narrowed as the wheels in her head spun around. "Do you think he might have used that same concept and extracted your memory cells from your brain tissue instead?"

"Is that even possible?" Carrie asked, feeling a little confused by everything she was hearing.

Donatello took April's theory and pondered on it before he spoke, his pacing increasing as he spoke.

"Okay, say he did do that, he extracted our memory cells, then what? Do you actually think that our cells would survive in a foreign host? The mutated DNA structure in our cells is more complex than human DNA, and once it was put into the cerebral field, the human cells would just attack it and destroy it!"

Donatello then stopped his pacing, his eyes wide in shock.

"Wait a minute! This _is_ how he did it!"

"But, you just said that wasn't possible," Leonardo joined his brother in the middle of the living room. "That our mutated cells would be destroyed."

"But, what _if_ Dr. Hamilton used our memory cells along _with_ stem cells, taking the time to mix the two so the stem cells would learn how to function like the memory sensors, which would explain why we were gone for that lengthy period of time. But once he extracted those cells into the minds of these kids and sent us back home . . . "

"The brain rejected the implants and we slowly began to forget who we really are." Leonardo finished breathlessly.

"Bingo!" Donatello threw his hands into the air and moved back the computer. "Which brings me back to what I said before: we _need_ to find this guy and make him reverse all of this before we completely forget!"

"I have a question," Raphael pushed his thin lips together and crossed his arms. "WHY? Why the shell would he do somethin' like that ta us? This guy obviously ain't as nice as everyone makes him out ta be!"

Splinter nodded. "I, too, am curious as to why this unfortunate event has occurred. But, I am afraid only Dr. Hamilton knows the answer to his actions."

"And where our bodies are!" Michelangelo added.

"Carrie," Leonardo rejoined the group at the computer desk. "Did your brother ever mention anything about where Dr. Hamilton lived?"

"Yeah!" Carrie nodded her head, her blonde hair whipping over her shoulders. "Jon did say something about a farmhouse, right next to the Hudson River."

"In New Jersey, right?"

Carrie's jaw dropped. " How did you know that?"

"I don't know," Leonardo shrugged. "I guess you brother is trying to help us out or something."

"Come on!" Raphael shouted as he stormed for the front door. "Let's get goin'!"

Leonardo moved quickly behind him, then grabbed Raphael's arm and pulled him back. "And how are you going to get there? Walk? April, would you mind giving us a ride?"

April sighed, blowing air up at her bangs. "Do I have a choice? You guys _always _manage todrag me into these things."

"I will go along as well." Splinter stated as he moved to the door. "You will need protecting should we run into trouble."

"ROAD TRIP!" Michelangelo cried out, pushing past Leonardo and Raphael and out the door. "I call shotgun!"

"Are ya sure we can't just let Mikey forget who he is?" Raphael asked Leonardo before exiting the door with Donatello and Splinter. Leonardo shook his head, a slight smile on his face. He waited until April and Carrie left the apartment and he shut the door behind them. The smile on his face quickly faded away, and Leonardo knew he had no way to prepare himself for what was to come.

If anyone has ever seen Chris Farley on SNL back in the earlier 90's, then you probably got this. It was a sketch he did about a motivational speaker and the running gag was that if you didn't do well in school or whatever, you would end up like him, living in a van down by the river. Well, it was funnier when Chris Farley did it . . . trust me . . .


	11. Chapter Eleven: WLU:Part Two

Chapter Eleven:

What Lies Underneath: Part Two

The old Volkswagen van sputtered out a puff of black smoke as it slowly came to a stop in front of a broken down farmhouse that sat on the river front. The five teens in the back seats pressed their noses against the windows, and tried desperately to push away the fear that was overcoming them as April killed the ignition.

"I think I'm gonna throw up," Michelangelo moaned, sinking down into his seat, and Raphael quickly scooted away from him, suddenly wishing his youngest brother had taken the front seat like he had planned to.

"Are you sure this is the place?" Donatello asked Leonardo without removing his eyes from the mold-covered white siding and the rotting shingles on the roof.

Leonardo nodded. "I'm sure, but don't ask me how I know." He then reached for the handle and shoved the sliding door open, letting Michelangelo, Raphael and Carrie out of the van first. Splinter and April also jumped out, quietly closing their doors behind them, and everyone switched on their flashlights.

"This place looks like it's been abandoned or something," Carrie stood closely behind Raphael and placed her hands on his back. "How could someone live like this?"

"He was probably too busy playin' _Invasion Of the Body Snatchers _to keep up house!" Michelangelo joked, bringing a smile to Carrie's face.

The group, under Splinter's direction, moved quietly across the barely visible stone walkway, which had been overrun with weeds and grass. They approached the derelict front porch, taking heed to avoid the rotting boards after Donatello fell through them a few times, and stood silently in front of the blacken door.

"Uh," Michelangelo muttered after a few moments. " Is somebody gonna knock?"

Leonardo approached the door, taking a deep breath as he lifted his closed fist, and just as his knuckles hit the door, it slowly pushed back into the house, making a loud and long creaking noise as it moved.

"Is anyone else getting a Scooby-Doo vibe from this place?" Michelangelo opened his mouth again. "The first zombie that lunges out at me, I'm leaving!"

Leonardo shook his head at his brother, then stepped into the house, his eyes wondering around the dusty interior as the others joined him. They huddled together in the center of the entrance way, and they shined the flashlights into different sections of the house.

"This can't be right!" Raphael exclaimed quietly. " This place is totally empty!" He extended his finger and moved it around. " No furniture! No knick-knacks of any kind! I think you got the wrong place, Leo."

Leonardo bravely took a few steps away from the others and moved to the base of the decrepit staircase. He slowly lifted his right foot to climb the steep steps, and a sudden flash of gray and black jumped down at him from the shadowy second floor, catching Leonardo in the chest and shoving him to the ground, and he quickly covered his face with his hands. Carrie let out a scream, which in turned scared Michelangelo even more, and he let out his own high pitched cry.

"Be calm everyone!" Splinter whispered, then reached down to the small animal that was resting on Leonardo's chest. "It is just a cat."

Leonardo removed his hands and stood up, staring at the gray and black striped tabby that now sat in Splinter's arms. "I've never heard of a cat that jumps out and attacks people."

"Sure they do! Klunk does it to Raph all the time!" Michelangelo stepped around, took the cat out of the mutant rat's grasp, and began to lovingly scratch the top of the animal's head. "Ah, what a good kitty you are! You were just protecting your home, weren't you?"

Just then, the cat let out a noise that no one expected. "WOOF WOOF!"

Michelangelo froze in place, his hand perched above the cat's head as his eyes grew with fear. "Did you just say 'woof, woof'?"

The cat jumped back to the ground and placed itself on its hind legs, pawing at the air as it panted and wagged its long tail.

Raphael leaned over to Donatello and whispered. "One of Dr. Hamilton's 'experiments', I take it."

Leonardo knelt down to the mixed-up creature, and the cat moved closer to the teen and licked his out-stretched hand. The teen rubbed behind the cats' left ear, and the animal whimpered, a look of desperation in its eyes.

" Poor guy. I know exactly how you feel." Leonardo said softly, then his attention was turned to something else that seemed out of place. "Hey, do you guys hear that?"

While everyone strained their ears and looked around, Splinter joined Leonardo and placed a large ear to the flooring.

"It sounds like a low humming noise." Splinter confirmed. "And it is very close to us."

"An electric generator, perhaps?" Donatello also knelt down and listened closely. "If that's the case, that means someone must still live here."

"Quick!" Leonardo pointed at his brothers, April and Carrie. "Find the door that leads to the basement!"

Everyone scurried around in the dark, flashlights shining in every direction. Michelangelo was the first to reach a door, and he grabbed the handle.

"Here! I found it!"

But as jerked back the door, Michelangelo was face to face with a brick wall.

"Uh, maybe not."

Carrie was next, calling out as she opened another door, but only discovered another brick wall.

"Okay, what kind of sick games is this guy playin'?" Raphael growled in anger as he, too, uncovered another wall.

"Now we know this guy is defiantly hiding something if he's blocking off everything." Donatello moved around the back of the staircase and follow his flashlight's trail to a large, square Oriental rug that sat in the middle of the living room.

"How in the shell are we supposed to get down there to find out?" Michelangelo shouted, his voice echoing off the cobweb ridden walls.

"AHHHHHHHHH!"

Michelangelo spun around, as did everyone else, and pointed his light at the spot were his brother once stood. Both Donatello and the rug were completely gone, and an orange glow shone up from the basement through the huge hole that now took their place.

"Well, I guess that's _one_ way to do it!" Michelangelo shrugged, letting out a nervous chuckle as he moved closer to the hole.

"Donnie!" Leonardo called out as he leaned over the side. "Are you alright?"

Donatello pushed himself up with his left hand, still feeling his body shake from the hard fall. He looked back up through the hole in the decayed flooring and rubbed at his aching head.

"Uh, well, considering I just fell fifteen feet and landed on concrete flooring, 'alright' would _not_ be the correct choice of explaining how I feel!"

"Geesh, a simple 'yes' or 'no' would have been enough." Raphael grumbled at Donatello's sarcasm.

"What do you see down their, Donnie?" Leonardo asked as he switched off his flashlight.

Donatello slowly rose to his feet and looked around. "Well, I found the generator." He pointed a finger to the noisy roar of a large metallic machine behind him. His eyes circled around the small room, taking note of the orange light bulb that sat just above a thick blue door.

"I found a door down here too!" He shouted back up over the whirring noise. "I think there might be more to this place!"

"Oh great," Michelangelo fell back onto his behind and tossed his blonde hair out of his face. "Another super-villain who has an underground laboratory."

"How are we supposed to get down there?" Carrie dropped to her knees and leaned over the side.

"Jump," Raphael stated bluntly. "How else?"

"Jump?" Leonardo repeated as he tried to swallow the lump that had suddenly gathered in his throat. Raphael noticed the panic in his brother's eyes and he couldn't help but let out an exasperated sigh.

"Geez, not again! Come on, Leo! It ain't _that_ far down!"

Leonardo pushed himself backwards toward the staircase and curled his knees up to his chest. "You guys go ahead. I'll stay up here and be the lookout."

"Jumping is not necessary!" Donatello shouted up from the basement. "There's a ladder down here!" he pulled the ladder over to the hole, and Raphael and Michelangelo held it tightly as April and Carrie climbed down.

"Are you coming or what?" Raphael shouted at Leonardo as Splinter and Michelangelo went down. Leonardo took a deep breath and crawled over to the ladder, the sweat beading on his forehead as he grasp the metal rungs.

"Don't look down." Raphael said with an evil grin on his face, laughing as his brother glared back in response. "All right, I'm sorry. Here, let me go down first, just in case you fall."

Raphael began to descend the ladder, then saw the panic grow in Leonardo's brown eyes.

"Come on, you chicken!" Raphael pulled at his brother's tennis shoe, and Leonardo turned around, his hands shaking as he closed his eyes and let Raphael guide him down. When the reach the bottom, Leonardo sat down on the cold floor and held his clammy face in his hands.

"Your brother scared of heights, by any chance?" Raphael asked Carrie as the girl knelt down next to Leonardo.

"Actually, he is." Carrie said as she stroked Leonardo's black hair. "Our father threw him from a three story window when he was seven. Broke both of his arms and one of his legs. He's been afraid ever since." She looked back at Leonardo, who seemed as if he knew what Carrie was talking about as small tears emerged from his eyes.

Splinter placed his long nose into the air and took in the atmosphere around them. "I do not care for the feeling of this environment. I sense death all around as."

"Not too mention that it's _freezing_ down here!" Michelangelo wrapped his arms around himself, pushing the black and green wind jacket closer to his body.

"It almost feels like a morgue down here or something." April chimed in, then smiled wickedly as Michelangelo threw a dirty look her way.

"Be very silent, and move quickly." Splinter turned the door handle and looked down the shadowy hallway before waving everyone to follow. Carrie helped Leonardo to his feet and the two of them let everyone exit before them.

The temperature seemed to drop even more as they descended down the walkway, finding nothing except more bluish colored concrete walls. Their journey continued for a least a mile, and finally, at the end of the hallway, sat a small corridor, which was divided by three doors.

"Okay," Michelangelo scratched at his head. " Now what?"

Donatello took a step to the left, and peered into the tiny window that sat just at eye-level. A green light illuminated against his face, and he inhaled a deep breath before gasping.

"Oh...my...no...no! It-it can't be!"

Donatello grabbed the door handle in one lightening fast motion, his hands slipping a few times before he successfully pushed the door open.

"Donnie! What is it? What's going on?" Leonardo dashed after his panic-stricken brother, and as he joined Donatello, and the green light shone down on him, he then knew what had made Donatello upset. Raphael and Michelangelo had already seen what they were looking at after Donatello shoved the door open, and they quietly joined their brothers, and all four of them stared up in a wide-eyed wonder.

"I don't believe it," Leonardo whispered. "It's...it's us."

Standing before them were four glass and metal cylinders, that went from the ceiling to a metal base that sat a inch off of the floor. The cylinders were filled with a clear liquid, colored green by the ultraviolet lighting behind them. And in each cylinder, there was a body, each a different shade of green, each carrying a large plated shell, and they were all stripped of any apparel that might have covered them. Splinter, April and Carrie tiptoed into the room and stood by the door, not knowing what to do or say to the four brothers.

"So, that's what they _really_ look like?" Carrie whispered to April, who only replied with a slow nod, her eyes glued to the scene in front of her.

Leonardo was the first to take a step closer, and he placed his open palm against the glass casing that held his mutant body. He bowed his head, suddenly becoming slightly dizzy, and a sick feeling beginning to course through his body, and he couldn't stop his knees from giving out. He fell to the concrete floor, grabbing at his head as a shearing pain ripped through his brain, and he could longer hold back the scream of anguish that was forcing its way up his throat. The screams grew, echoing into his ears, as if a chorus had joined in, and Leonardo felt his eyes rolling back into his head.

Then, everything went black.


	12. Chapter Twelve:WLU:Part Three

_Here it is folks! Part three of my long as heck ending! The epilogue follows, and for those of you who like happy endings, I suggest you shy away from the alternate ending. But for those of you are twisted and sick, like me, please read on! Before I let you go, I just wanted to thank all of the great people who read my story and left me the most wonderful reviews, even though I drove everyone crazy with my cliffhanger endings! ;0) Thank you all of you so much for sticking with me, and I do hope you enjoyed this story. Happy reading!_

* * *

Chapter Twelve:

What Lies Underneath: Part Three

_In time, all of you will understand what I have done. I just wanted to help them. I just wanted to help . . . _

"Leo! Hey! Wake up!"

The young teen forced open his brown eyes, shielding out the light that poured into them with his arm.

"What happened?" He asked, feeling very disoriented. He slowly lowered his arm and found three teenager boys sitting on the concrete floor next to him.

"We all had another black out episode, Leo," The boy with the short and spiked brown hair said to him. "A really bad one. We've been out for about an hour or more."

Leonardo looked at his surroundings, finally noticing they were in a different room. It was much warmer and much more homelike. A fire burned and popped under a carved marble mantel, and the light from its flames flickered across the red and brown wallpaper and the many tall bookshelves. A suit of Medieval armor complete with a brightly colored jousting pole stood in the far corner, and in the middle of the room sat two red velvet couches, one of which was occupied by April, Splinter and Carrie.

"Where are we?" Leonardo asked, his dizzy spell lingering.

"You are about twenty miles underground, Leo." A soft, yet deep male voice called out from the other red sofa. "I hope the fire is enough warmth for all of you. I could put more wood on it-,"

"We are fine, Dr. Hamilton." Leonardo heard Splinter reply in a cold and tense tone of voice. "Now that all of my sons are awake, you must begin explaining yourself."

Leonardo leaned over to the side, just catching a head full of salt and pepper colored hair before the body it belonged to stood up and went to the fireplace. Donatello offered his hand to Leonardo, and he pulled his brother to his feet, and the four of them slowly moved to the couches.

"It never seems warm enough down here!" The man said excitedly as he hunched over the fire and threw in two more small cut logs. "Never warm enough. Not warm like the sun. The sun was always warm."

"_This guy's a few cards short of a full deck_!" Raphael whispered into Michelangelo's ear, and his brother nodded and spun his finger around in a circle and whistled.

The man returned to his feet, which were bare, and he brushed his hands across the tops of his baggy blue and white striped pajama pants. His large hands then tried to smooth out the many wrinkles in his gray T-shirt before going through his thick, shaggy bush of graying hair, which drastically contradicted the youthful glow that radiated on his smiling face. Dr. Richard Hamilton placed his palms together, his smiling growing by the minute, and he looked lovingly at the four teens that now stood before him.

"It is so good to you guys again!" Richard's voice chirped happily. "It gets awfully lonely down here sometimes. Howard doesn't like it. Scares him, I guess."

"Who's Howard?" Raphael asked, wrinkling his nose. A loud bark made the boys turn around, and they found the gray and black-striped tabby sitting in Carrie's lap, panting heavily from the heat of the fire.

"Isn't that incredible? When Howard, the _real_ Howard, passed away a few years ago," Richard waved his hands wildly as he spoke. "I got an idea! Transfer all of Howard's memories into another animal! This cat just happened to stray into my house, and POOF! My dog lives on! Cats tend to live longer than dogs, you know!"

"Fascinatin'," Raphael growled, crossing his arms over his chest. "Does yer little idea apply to mutant turtles too, or did your level of insanity just happen to go up that day?"

"Raphael!"" Splinter snapped and slammed the end of his stick into the red and brown rug under his feet. " I am sorry for my son's harsh words, Dr. Hamilton."

"Oh, no, no, no! It's all right!" Richard waved his hands again. " I know everyone is confused and in need of an explanation! Anger is to be expected! I'd be scared if no one was!" His fidgety hands excitably motioned for the boys to sit down on the empty couch. "Please! Seeing people stand around makes me nervous!"

"Apparently," Donatello added his own smart remark as he sat down between Michelangelo and Raphael, Leonardo taking the arm of the couch so not to crowd his brothers.

Dr. Hamilton smacked his palms together again and placed his finger tips to his full bottom lip."Oh, where to begin! Where to begin!" He raised his youthful blue eyes, which shone with the eagerness of a child on Christmas Day.

"Wait a minute," Leonardo held up his hand to stop Dr. Hamilton, then looked over at April, Splinter and Carrie. "I'm curious about something. How did we end up in here, in this room?"

"You simply walked into my study, Leo!" Richard answered with a laugh. "You knocked on my door, and I let you in! Don't you remember?"

"Can't say that I do." Leonardo narrowed his eyes and scowled. Dr. Hamilton scratched at the stubble on his face and cocked a bushy brown eyebrow.

"Hmmm, that's odd." His eyes went skyward, and he mumbled incoherently under his breath.

"We've been having a lot of problems with that lately," Donatello pointed out, copying Leonardo cold tone. " Do you happen to know _why_?"

Richard shrugged and gave the frustrated teens a goofy grin. " Well, it could just than,"

"Hold on a second here!" Raphael jumped to his feet, causing all eyes to look upon him. "We're gettin' way too far ahead of ourselves! I wanna know who the shell this guy is, how he _found _us, and why he did this ta us!"

"Whoa, calm down, son!" Richard again waved his hands wildly and took a few steps back, inhaling a deep breath as he dropped to the floor and sat cross-legged. "Now, I'm guessing you already know a little about my background."

"Baxter Stockman told us some things, yes," Leonardo sighed, his impatience growing by the second.

"Baxter?" Richard's eyes grew. "That old, greedy coot! What is he up to these days?"

"Not much besides living in a glass jar!" Michelangelo snickered, and his brothers couldn't help from laughing themselves. Richard also tried to join in, but found he was lost in their personal joke.

"Uh, okay. Well, anyway, yes, dear Dr. Baxter Stockman! The guy I had admired so much turned out to be the one to destroy my good scientific rep! And why, may you ask?"

"He's greedy!" Michelangelo shouted as he threw his hand into the air.

" He's jealous." Leonardo stated blankly.

"He's insane!" Donatello joined in.

"He's a greedy, jealous, insane freak!" Raphael finished.

Richard blinked his blue eyes a few times. "Uh, yeah. Boy, you guys really do know him!"

"We've crossed paths a few times," Raphael said through his gritted teeth. "Now, start talking!"

Richard blew out a long breath, his long bangs flying up and back down to his forehead, and he began his story.

"Well, after Stockman disgraced me and threw me out into the streets, I had no where to go. No family around. Nothing. I became just like the rest of the homeless, sleeping under a box, or in a dumpster. Scrounging for food, collecting cans to recycle. I made friends with the abandoned animals, too. I'm kind of a sucker for animals!" Richard smiled in his youthful mannerism. "That's where I found Howard!"

The cat, upon hearing its former canine name, jumped from Carrie's hands and settled in Dr. Hamilton's lap, where it received a loving scratch behind his ears.

"I was actually happy living on the streets! I got to experience a different side of life! To see how these people survive from day to day was amazing! You grow a thicker layer of skin when you live a life like that!"

"Just get to part where we come in!" Raphael snapped, his impatience running a close race with Leonardo.

"Raphael!" Splinter shouted. "Calm yourself!"

'No! It's okay!" Richard interfered with another goofy smile. "I tend to get a little windy when I talk! I just love talking! What can I say?"

"No wonder your brother and his friends adored him," April whispered to Carrie. " He's completely charming!"

"Okay, on to phase two!" Richard suddenly jumped to his feet, striking a dramatic pose, and Howard scattered across the carpet. "Now, while I was living on the streets, there suddenly came a whisper, a whisper of a strange name. A name that was muttered with a trembling fear. The name belonged to a sinister man, who would search the streets in the dead of night, taking the homeless captive in his great machine, and then dumping them into a fiery pit to do his bidding. His name was-,"

"The Garbageman?"The four teens exclaimed in confusion.

"Yes!" Richard threw his arms into the air and laughed. "You remembered! Yes! I was one of those captives! The four of you came to save us, and you gave us back our freedom!" He lowered his arms and moved a few steps closer to the teens, placing his left hand over his heart.

"You see, I was so grateful for your rescue, I had to give you something back! I was so fascinated by your forms, but yet, I knew that none of you could experience life to its fullest as I could, and it saddened me."

"So you _repaid_ us by doing_ this_?" Leonardo couldn't hold back his anger any longer and he jumped to his feet.

"Dude, a thank you card would have been enough!" Michelangelo tried to lighten the mood, but found no one laughing.

"But, haven't you ever wanted to see the world in the sunlight?" Richard grabbed Leonardo's shoulders and looked deep into his brown eyes. "Haven't you ever wanted to experience the change of the seasons? The sights, smells and sounds of the busy city? Or the quiet countryside?"

"We do get chances," Leonardo pulled back. "We've been able to see all of those things, even if our surface time was limited."

"What about love?" Richard asked as the childish gleam returned to his eyes. "A first kiss? A family? All of the emotions that humans experience that you, as a mutant, hidden from the world, could never have?"

Leonardo turned his eyes away and took a deep breath. " I-this . . . this is just not how it's meant to be, Dr. Hamilton. We were meant to live as mutants. We were meant to live underground. If a human life was meant for us, it would have happened differently."

"My son is right, Dr. Hamilton." Splinter stood up, clutching his walking stick for support as he neared the scientist and placed a hand on his shoulder. " I know that you have meant well with your experiment, but this is not the life for my sons. They were given a greater purpose, as difficult as it may seem, and they have worked tirelessly to live this great life they were handed to the fullest."

"What about my brother? And my friends? They have families too, you know!" Carrie also stood, the tears streaming down her face. "Why them? Why, out of all of your students, why did you take them away from me?"

"Yeah, how did you become a teacher anyway?" Raphael pulled Carrie close to him and comforted her.

"After the Garbageman had been overthrown, I had the opportunity to start my life over again." Richard moved back to the fireplace and leaned against the mantel. "Some of the others chose to stay on the island, but I had to get out. My credentials were looked over by the local school board, and the superintendent offered me a job teaching science course at a downtown Manhattan highschool, and I gladly accepted. Kids are another thing that pull at my heartstrings."

Richard turned around and the smile was back on his face as his memories flooded back.

"My first day, I was introduced to four amazing young boys, all the age of fifteen, all freshmen, and they were so close, almost like brothers. There was Jonathan, the quiet one, who always carried this brooding look about him, as if the world was out to get him and he wasn't going to back down. James was the goofy one, and he wasn't very bright and a bit of a clutz, but he always made me smile with his Saturday Night Live bits. Alexander was a smart kid, a musical genius, who knew his composers like nobody's business! Then, there was Damon, the one who would get in trouble just for the attention, and acted like a tough guy but who was really shy and sad underneath. I became so close to them, they became like the sons I never had."

"I soon found out the dark side to their lives one day when Jon showed up for school supporting a black eye. He tried to brush it off, saying he got in a fight with someone, but he later opened up and said his father regularly abused him and his sister. I later found out about James' parents, who tragically died just days before school started in a car crash. I loathed Alex's mother, who would come in and ask to excuse her son from class just so she could enter him into another competition, stating that music would make him richer than anything _I_ could teach him! And poor Damon, who had no one at home except a drugged out mom who spent all of their welfare money on her next high. Oh, it made it sick to hear that these four wonderful kids had lives like these!"

The silence in the room was deafening, no one knowing what to say as the tears came down Dr. Hamilton's face, but Richard quickly wiped his tears aside and started again.

"Then it came to me. I could help the boys out _and_ return the favor to those wonderful mutant turtles who had helped me! I could give those turtles a life where they could live in the sun, and take those kids away from a life that no one deserves! It would be the most fantastic, the most beautiful accomplishment in my entire scientific career!"

"How did you know where to find us?" Leonardo asked, his temper dampened and his curiosity increased.

"Well, that was merely an accident!" Richard laughed. "You see, I had taken that huge black garbage truck that had belonged to the Garbageman, and hid in the woods behind this house. I had made some adjustments on the instrument paneling and I was taking it out for a test drive when suddenly I turn a corner and there you are! Fighting in an alley with some guys in black pajamas!"

"That was the Garbageman's truck that we were trying to fight off?" Michelangelo thought for a second, then nodded. "Yeah, it did smell kinda familiar!"

"Yes, you did attack me, and I'm sorry for the surprise, but, well, you surprised me!" Dr. Hamilton moved from the fireplace nudged Leonardo in the side as he laughed.

"What about that flash of light we all saw?" Donatello leaned forward and clasped his hands together.

"Oh that?" Richard waved off Donatello's question. "That was just some stun ray, but that was already on the truck. I pushed the button by mistake as I tried to use those monstrous claws to collect you. And after that, it was a matter of time before I could lure those boys into coming here so I complete my task."

Leonardo sighed deeply, his head bowed as he moved away from the fireplace.

"Is everything okay?" Richard called out to him, his nerves on edge as he watched the grimacing look of the teen's face.

"You took these eight beings, ripped them from their lives, the lives they were meant to have. You dissected them, violated the inner workings of their minds, then mashed them back together, hoping that no one would remember or find out what had happened." Leonardo spun back around and narrowed his eyes, his fists clenched as an unfamiliar rage boiled inside of him.

"You thought that this would make everything better for everyone. All you wanted to do was help us, help those kids."

"Yes, " Richard's voice went to a low hush as he backed down from the fury in Leonardo's eyes. "All I wanted to do was help. I wanted to give you a better life."

Leonardo suddenly pounced onto Dr. Hamilton, sending him to the ground and knocking the breath out of him.

"Don't you get it? None of us wanted this!" Leonardo screamed into Richard's face. "We never asked for this! Do you think any of us like living this way? You've ripped all of our lives apart!"

"Leonardo!" Splinter was the first to reach for the angry teen and pulled him back. "You must calm yourself. Do not let this anger and hatred control you!"

"Back offa him, Leo!" Raphael helped Splinter hold his brother back. "You'll be sorry if you don't!"

"No!" Leonardo pulled away from them and stepped away from the shocked group, his brown eyes filling with tears as he spoke. "I want my life back! And I know all of you feel the same way!" He moved closer to Richard again, and the teacher sunk back down to the floor, clutching his face in his hands.

"That's not Leo, you guys!" Carrie pushed Raphael and Splinter back. "That's my brother trying to come back out. Don't hurt him!"

"Please! I beg you!" Richard cried out. "All I wanted to do was help! I just wanted to help!"

"Reverse what you did!" The black-haired teen yelled.

"I...I don't . . . " Dr. Hamilton whimpered, then cried out again as Leonardo used all of his strength to pull the doctor to his knees.

"You don't what?"

Richard lowered his hands just past his wide, frightened eyes and he gulped loudly before he spoke quietly.

"I don't know if I can."

The teen's brown eyes burned as he threw Dr. Hamilton to the ground and headed for the door, stopping to speak before he left the room

"Fine. You know what? I'll do it myself!" and with that, the door slammed shut.

"No!" Dr. Hamilton leaped to his feet and hurried out the door, his shouts echoing behind him. "You don't know what you are doing! You'll destroy everything!"

"I think we better go after them." Carrie said to Splinter and April, then turned to the remaining teen boys. "Are you guys still feeling like yourselves, so to speak?"

"I don't even remember who exactly I am anymore!" The brown haired boy spoke in a dumbfounded fashion. "I've got two people up here and it's like their fighting with each other!"

"I'm feeling really tired," The blonde boy said with a yawn as he laid across the empty couch. "My head hurts so bad, I just wanna sleep!"

"No, Michelangelo! Get up!" April forced the teen to his feet and his rubbed at his eyes.

"Michelangelo? Isn't he the guy who painted the inside of the Sistine Chapel?"

"How would you know that?' The auburn haired boy wrinkled his nose. " You weren't even in school that day cause your mom pulled ya out again!"

"Uh, I take that as a 'no'." Carrie announced as she pulled Alex and Damon with her.

"Holy cow!" Alex shrieked into Damon's ear. "There's that giant rat thing again! It's gonna eat me!"

"Hey, Carebear," Damon smirked. "I must be dreamin' about you again."

"Yeah that's it!" Carrie smiled back, growing an idea inside of her head. " All of you are having a really freaky dream, and now we have to go stop Jon from taking over our brains."

"All I ever dream about are monkeys swimming in ice cream," James remarked as April pushed him through the door behind Carrie. " This one sounds very intriguing." James then lit

up and smiled. " Hey! I even talk smarter in this dream!"

They moved quickly back up the twisting narrow hallway, stopping at the corridor that contained the three doors as they heard voices shouting.

"Change us back now or I'll break them!"

"No! Please! Jonathan! I beg you!"

They rushed into the room that contained the floating mutant turtle bodies in the glass cylinders. Jonathan was standing in front of the containers; a long piece of metal piping in one hand and the other was stretched out to Dr. Hamilton, taunting him to make a move.

"Whoa," James gasped, not knowing what to make of the scene in front of him.

"Reverse it! Change us back!" Jonathan shouted again.

"I don't know it that's even possible!" Richard cried. "The stem cell procedure is supposed to be _permanent_! It could take _years_ to reverse the effects!"

Jonathan smiled wickedly as he raised the piping and grabbed it tightly with both hands. "Say you'll do it or break them. I'll destroy everything."

"Jon!" Carrie shouted, breaking her brother's concentration as she ran to him. "Please, Jon. Don't do this. We'll find a way to change all of you back. Just, please, don't do this."

"All I wanted to do was help all of you!" Richard fell to his knees and placed his face into his hands. "I never meant to hurt anyone!"

"Uh, guys?"

Splinter and April looked over to their left as they heard Michelangelo's voice, and they watched as the teen his grabbed his head and swayed slightly.

"I-I don't . . . feel so . . . good . . . " Michelangelo then collapsed to the floor and Splinter quickly dropped down to the teen's limp body, placing a caring hand on his forehead.

"Is he okay?" Carrie left her brother's side and joined Splinter, pulling Michelangelo's blonde head into her lap. Splinter nodded, his words lost in a cloud of worry.

"Oh, man! My head!" Raphael was next to regain himself, and he fiercely rubbed at the pounding pain that pulsed in his head. He looked up to see one of his brothers threatening Dr. Hamilton and another brother lying unconscious on the ground.

"What the _shell_ is goin' on around here?" But before Raphael could get in another word, the pain in his head had reached its breaking point, and his body joined Michelangelo on the ground.

"What's happening to them?" Carrie cried out as April caught Donatello as he also passed out and slumped into her arms.

"It's just like Donnie said," April softly lowered Donatello to the ground next to his brothers. "Their mutant cells are being destroyed! If we don't hurry up and do something, they'll be gone forever!"

Dr. Hamilton dropped his hands, watching with surprised amazement as the piece of metal piping dropped out of Leonardo's hand, and the teen fell to his knees, his fingers intertwining in his black hair as he clenched his teeth together to bite back the pain.

"Mr. Hamilton! Do something! You have to help them!" Carrie gently placed Michelangelo's head into Splinter's lap and crawled over to where the scientist sat. "There has to be something you can do!"

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean for it to be this way!" Richard cried out again, his thoughts lost as he continued to watch Leonardo scream in pain.

"Mr. Hamilton!" Carrie grabbed Richard's T-shirt and violently shook him. "We're running out of time! You need to figure out a way to save them!"

"Please, Dr. Hamilton, I beg you," Splinter's voice trembled as he spoke. "Please save my sons."

"Okay, okay, uh, uh, I'm thinking. Thinking." Richard jumped to his feet and nervously tugged at his pajama pants. "Okay, there should be a way to do this. There has to be! Oh, god, I don't do well under pressure!" Richard's pacing increased as his hands moved to his hair and scratched at his scalp. His face suddenly lit up, and as Richard spoke, the words that escaped from his mouth came out in a jumbled mess, but it was clear enough for the girls and the mutant rat to understand.

"I think I have a solution, but we must act fast!" Richard pointed to April and Splinter.

" Grab them and follow me!"

Richard helped them by picking up Raphael's limp body while Splinter grabbed Michelangelo and April dragged Donatello. Carrie moved over to Leonardo, who was curled into a fetal position, his head still cradled in his hands.

"We're going to have to move now." She lightly whispered. "Do you think you can do it?" The black-haired teen nodded, and Carrie slung one of his arms over her shoulder and slowly pulled the boy to his feet. As they followed Dr. Hamilton through his lab, Carrie stared into the face of her brother, watching fearfully as his expressions changed as the two personalities inside fought to win control, and Carrie knew it wouldn't be long before one would triumph, and one would be gone forever.

"Here! Lay them down on the tables!" Dr. Hamilton placed Raphael down and whipped around to his elaborate computer station. "I hope there is time. I hope I'm not too late"

The humming of the computer filled the room and the lights above the tables flickered on, displaying an overhead rig that held four sets of eight computerized robotic arms, each one set with a very long, very thin drill bit and two microscopes. Richard punched in a few more buttons just as Carrie help her brother onto the table, her eyes filled with tears as she watched his brown eyes close after brushing his bangs out of his face.

"Everything is going to be okay," Carrie whispered, then placed a kiss on his forehead. The boy smiled back at her, then it faded away.

"All right," Richard pulled out four sets of green scrubs and passed them out. He dressed quickly, then moved back to the computer. He typed in a set of commands, and the drills fired up. Dr. Hamilton took in a deep breath as he turned back to the four bodies laying unconscious before him, and he couldn't help the feeling that suddenly hit him like a ton of bricks.

"I'm sorry." Dr. Hamilton bowed his head and spoke quietly. " All I wanted to do was thank you. All I wanted to do was help. But, I failed all of you instead. I only hope . . . I only hope that I'm not too late."


	13. Epilogue

Epilogue

Six months later

James scratched his head in confusion as he stared at the large letter 'A' that was etched in red pen.

"Jon, look at this!"

Jonathan sunk down to the concrete step beside of his friend and tossed his black bangs aside. "What?"

"Do you not _see _this?" James shoved the stapled papers into Jonathan's hands. "An 'A'! I _never_ get A's in science! And this!" The brown haired boy reached into his backpack and pulled out a thick stack of papers. " Math test: A! English: A!"

Jonathan laughed as James threw his hands into the air. "You should be happy about that, Jimmy."

"I just can't believe it!" James took the paper back from Jonathan and shoved the entire pile into his backpack. "I think my I.Q. went up or something while we were gone." He turned back to face Jon. " Do you remember anything yet?"

"No, and to tell you the truth, I really don't want to." Jonathan lifted his bottle of water to his lips and took a sip. " I've been having some really weird dreams though."

"Really?" James's eyes grew in surprise. " Me too! What have yours been about?"

Jonathan was about to answer when he saw a smiling face walk toward them.

"Good afternoon gentlemen!"

"Geesh, Alex," James moved his backpack as their blonde friend took a seat on the step under them. " If your smile was any bigger, your face would break!"

"Why shouldn't I be smiling?" Alex said with a tinkle in his young eyes. "It's Friday! School's almost out for the summer, I get to hang with my best friends, and . . . "

"And what?" Jonathan asked.

Alex began to snicker as he leaned in closer. " Get this: my mom was so upset that I was gone for so long, she sold, I repeat, _sold_ my piano and bought me _three_ video game consoles!"

"Oh, no," Jonathan shook his head as James rolled his eyes.

"That's right! No more boring lessons! No more concerts! Just fun, fun, fun! All the time! BOO-YA!"

"Now we'll_ defiantly_ never see you!" James joked, causing Jonathan to laugh with him.

"Did you guys hear about what happened to Mr. Hamilton? How they put him in mental hospital?" Alex leaned in and whispered, as if keeping their conversation a secret.

Jonathan nodded sadly. "Yeah, but I don't believe he had anything to do with our kidnaping. He just seemed too nice."

"Well, it's always the nice ones you gotta watch out for," James shook his finger. " You know, that whole 'don't judge a book by its cover' thing."

The sound of a car horn made them look up to the street in front of the library just as a tan station wagon pulled away, the driver waving at the boys as the car disappeared. At the end of the sidewalk, Damon readjusted his long auburn hair and replaced his red duffel bag on his shoulder.

"It's about time you got here!" Alex said in a joking manner.

Damon playfully punched the blonde teen in the shoulder as he dropped down next to him. "You know how I like to be fashionably late. It's still okay with if I stay with you, right?"

" So, your mom is _really_ checking into rehab?" Jonathan asked as he passed his water to James.

"Yeah," Damon nodded. "I can't believe she thought I ran away cause of her drug problem! I guess she really did care about me. How's your dad been dealing with it?"

Jonathan shrugged, a slight smile appearing on his face. "He's made a lot of progress." He then fell silent as his eyes wondered among the leaves of the trees around them. " Isn't it strange how everything seems to be turning around for us?"

The other three boys nodded, each thinking about their mysterious time away, not one of them remembering what had happened during that time. The silence was broken when Damon suddenly yawned loudly.

"I hope I sleep better at your house, Alex. All those dreams I've been havin' keep me up half the night." Jonathan and James shared a curious look.

"What_ kind_ of dreams?" James asked, arching his eyebrow.

"It's kinda hard to explain." Damon scooted back against the brick wall of the library stairs and drew his knees up. "Most of it's just jumbled pictures and black fog, but in my dreams I'm a-," He stopped and started to laugh at himself. " I'm a giant talking turtle! Ain't that the craziest thing you've ever heard?"

Damon's laughter stopped when he noticed the blank expressions his three friends carried. " What?"

"I've been having dreams like that too," Jonathan said softly.

"So have I." James replied, then looked down at Alex, whose mouth was gapping in shock. "Alex?"

The boy closed his mouth and didn't give a response, his wide brown eyes answering for him.

"What do you think it means?" Jonathan thought out loud.

"Well, it could just mean that since we're so close and we just went through a traumatic experience together, that our minds have somehow taken all of the subconscious memories we're missing and turned them into decipherable images that we can relate to on a subliminal level."

James then felt three pairs of eyes on him and he turned his head away in embarrassment.

"Or . . . something like . . . that."

"What?" Damon asked in an irritated tone. "Where the _heck_ did that come from?"

"Jon! Jon!"

Jonathan jerked his head back to the sidewalk, watching as his younger sister Carrie raced across the library lawn and up the steps, her long blonde hair flying wildly behind her.

"What? What's wrong?" Jonathan held onto Carrie's arms as she regained her breath.

"The hospital just called Grandma. It's about Mom."

Jonathan felt an uneasy pain in his stomach and prepared himself for the worst. "What happened?" Carrie then smiled brightly.

"She's awake, and she's asking for us!"

A few tears of happiness spilled down Jonathan's cheeks as he lifted his sister into the air, embracing her tightly. He began to pull back, but Carrie continued to cling to him, still relishing in the fact that her brother was back home.

"We better get going if you guys want to see her. Visiting hours are over in an hour." James stood up, grabbing his backpack and slinging it across his shoulder. He took one step, and the tip of his left shoe caught the concrete.

"Jimmy!" Alex tried to grab his friend as he fell, but watched in amazement as James caught himself with his hands, then pushed off, flipping through the air and landed squarely on his feet at the bottom of the steps.

"That was unexpected," James commented as he looked back up the long flight of steps.

"You're tellin' me!" Damon descended the stairs behind Alex, Jonathan and Carrie. "How in the shell did you do that?"

James scratched at his short brown hair and gave Damon as odd look. " Did you just say _shell_?" The four boys then turned to Carrie as she began to giggle, her hands placed over her mouth to keep her laughter down.

"What's so funny?" Damon asked her, sounding a bit more annoyed than usual. Carrie shook her head, the knowing smile lingering on her face as she lowered her hands and locked her fingers behind her back.

"Nothing," She replied with a snicker. " Nothing at all."

As they walked over the library lawn, Alex bounced around James, asking him repeatedly to teach him the 'cool ninja move' he had just done, while Jonathan walked in between his sister and Damon. Carrie reached behind her brother and playfully poked Damon in the side. Damon in turn did the same, and Carrie giggled again. Jonathan stopped walking, narrowing his eyebrows at the two, causing them to shrink down in fear. Jonathan then grabbed Damon and switched places with him, smiling at Carrie as he placed Damon's hand in hers, and continued to walk away without saying a word. Carrie mirrored her brother's smile, sharing it with Damon for a moment before turning her head and glancing up at the building across the street. Damon also looked, not knowing what Carrie suddenly waved at, then began to question her as they hurried to catch up with the others.

* * *

"Geesh, do you think we rubbed off on them?" Michelangelo joked, his chin resting on the edge of the building roof as his arms hung over the side, his orange bandanna whipping in the wind.

"No, not at all." Leonardo laughed as he grabbed Raphael's outstretched hand and pulled his brother to his feet. " Come on. We better get back to the lair before Splinter finds out we're gone."

"He _has_ been gettin' a little more paranoid than usual." Raphael pulled a sai out of his belt and twirled it around in his fingers.

"Do you blame him?" Donatello took a step back from the edge. "After what happened to us, I'm surprised he still let's us go topside!"

" Yeah, but what are the chances of that ever happening again?" Michelangelo jumped up, knocking Donatello's bo staff to the ground. "Oops! Sorry!"

Donatello sighed as he bent over to retrieve it. "It's okay, Mikey. I got it."

"Do ya think she'd ever tell them what happened?" Raphael asked Leonardo as they leaned over the back edge of the building to check the alley below. A smile crawled across Leonardo's face as he laughed again.

"Do you think they would_ believe_ Carrie if she did?"

Raphael thought for a moment. "Good point."

"I still think it's cool that Dr. Hamilton was able to switch us back!" Michelangelo exclaimed as he did a cartwheel.

"It was a good thing our bodies were in stasis," Donatello pointed out.

"And that he was able to retract enough of our cells back out." Leonardo added. "In a way, he was still able to thank us for saving him. He basically saved our lives, too."

"And it feels good ta back in our own skin!" Raphael said with a smile.

"You know," Michelangelo placed his hand to his chin and looked up as he thought out loud. " I wonder if _we_ got any of their memories inside of our brains?"

As they readied themselves to jump off, the sudden surprised cry of Donatello caused them to turn around. They held back their laughter as they watched their brother trip over the end of his bo staff and land face down on the building's roof. Donatello quickly regained his footing, and pushed back his feelings of embarrassment as he neared his brothers. Michelangelo lifted his green finger into the air and was about to make a comment when Donatello threw up his hand.

"Not _one_ word!" He then jumped off of the roof, and his brothers shared a hearty laugh before they joined him in the dark alley below.


	14. Alternate Ending

_I must warn you, this ending is very dark and very creepy, and not for the faint of heart. Do not read this if you feel the first ending was enough. Remember, you have been warned._

* * *

Alternate Ending 

Alex stretched his arms high above his head, his mouth opening wide as he let out a long yawn.

"Hey, you just did a magic trick."

Alex turned his head to the desk across the aisle and gave his friend Damon a confused look. "Huh? What's that supposed to mean?"

Damon rolled his eyes and scoffed. " You made your face disappear, you idiot."

Alex laughed as he rubbed his eyes, then ran his hands through his shaggy blonde hair. "I'm so exhausted! Mom had me up until one this morning. She said I couldn't sleep until I got that stupid concerto memorized. That thing was ten pages long!"

"You know what my mom was doing at one in the morning?" Damon growled, pushing the fallen ends of his long auburn hair behind his ears, then placed his index finger against his right elbow joint, making a movement like injecting a syringe needle into his arm.

The door of the noisy classroom opened and two other teen boys walked in. James had a pencil shoved behind his ear and a pile of books and papers in his hands, which he couldn't see around. His foot caught the metal leg of a desk and he fell faced first into the floor, the books falling around his head. A huge roar of laughter and taunting followed James as he gathered his things and hurried to the seat behind Alex, sinking down to hide the red flush of sadness and embarrassment on his face. The other boy kept his head lowered down, his black hair falling over his eyes as he sat behind Damon, who instantly turned around to face his friend. Jonathan lifted his head up and his friends gasped at the blue and purple bruise that sat under his right eye.

"Did your dad hit you again?" Damon asked, even though he knew the answer was 'yes'. Jonathan shrugged, trying to forget the pain and swelling in his cheek.

"Just call it another punishment for our little running away stunt." Jonathan's voice trembled in anger, and Alex shivered in fear as Jonathan's hands flexed into fists.

The class room door opened again and the noise settled as the gray haired teacher moved to his desk. He adjusted his blue checkered tie, then removed his gray sports jacket and placed it on the back of his chair.

"Good morning class," Mr. Hamilton turned to the chalkboard and wrote the word 'Dissection' in large white letters. A low moan came from the room of students, the loudest one coming from James.

"Now, now, class." Mr. Hamilton wiped the chalk dust from his hands with a wet napkin. "I know what you're thinking, but I _guarantee _you will enjoy this. I have some excellent specimens that I know you will find very interesting." He moved around his desk and placed himself in front of his favorite students.

"Damon! Nice to see you in class, and before noon too." Mr. Hamilton patted the boy on the shoulder.

"Yeah, well, it's not like I had somethin' better to do," Damon replied in a dry, sarcastic tone, and Mr. Hamilton laughed loudly.

"Class, I want you all to open your science books and turn to page 213." The teacher motioned at the four boys to join him at his desk. He pulled a small silver key out of his jacket pocket and placed it into Jonathan's hand.

"I need you guys to go get the supplies for me. Everything is downstairs in the basement. Be very easy with those specimens!"

The teens eyes each other, then walked out of the classroom and into the empty high school hallway.

"I'm not holding the dead stuff!" Alex shouted after another yawn.

"Man, I hope this is better than when we did those earthworms last year." Damon shoved his hands into his jean pockets, his eyes glued to the black and white tiling under his feet.

The boys rounded another corner and descended down the painted red staircase to the basement. The smells of pesticide and mold hit their nose as they walked into the faculty storage closet. Jonathan placed the silver key into the bronze door lock and unlocked the dead bolt, then allowed his friends to go in before him.

"Phew! Man, what stinks?" Alex held his nose shut with his fingers as his eyes wondered around the dimly lit storage room. "Smells like something died down here!"

"I think we found a place that reeks worse than the locker room," James added as he picked up a black bag marked '_Hamilton/Freshmen/Science2_'. He looked inside the bag, taking count of the cutting tools sitting inside.

Jonathan noticed the long metal cabinets that sat in the back of the room and he yanked on the rusted handle a few times before the doors opened. The boys peered cautiously into the cabinet, and they all felt a wave of uneasiness as they stared at the four black body bags inside.

"What kind of _specimens_ are these?" James grabbed the end of one of the bags and realized he couldn't pull it. "They're really heavy! How are we supposed to carry these upstairs?"

Jonathan glanced around, his eyes settling on a metal cart full of basketball and football uniforms. With Damon's help, they emptied the cart and pushed it over to the cabinet.

"Okay, this is going to take a team effort," Jonathan bent down and placed his hands under one of the bags, his friends did the same. "On my count, ready? One, two, three!"

The boys lifted the body into the air and quickly dropped it into the cart. They repeated the process with the other three, then left the storage room. After a long and slow trip back to their classroom, Mr. Hamilton was waiting for them out in the hallway, happily holding onto the door for them.

"Oh, good! I was afraid something had happened." The smile on the teacher's face grew. "You took so long retrieving those. You were very careful with them, right?" The boys nodded in response. "Good to hear! We wouldn't want those things to wake up before we dissect them, now would we?"

Before any of them could ask what the teacher had meant, Mr. Hamilton took the handle of the cart and pushed the boys into the classroom before pulling the cart in himself. A hush fell over the students as they all looked up from their books, whispering about the body bags that sat before them.

"Now, since I only have four of this beautiful specimens, I'm going to have to put you into groups."

Mr. Hamilton did just that and passed out three of the body bags, leaving Jonathan, James, Alex and Damon to be in a group together. The boys pushed their desks together and grabbed the last bag out of the cart, following Mr. Hamilton's instructions to place the bag gently on the desks. As they stood over the bag, Jonathan stared at the grotesque smile on their teacher's face, and his uneasiness was slowly turning into fear.

"Do any of you think Mr. Hamilton is having _way_ too much fun with this whole dissection thing?"

Jonathan turned to Alex and nodded, almost grateful that his blonde friend was feeling the exact same way.

"All right, everyone! Grab those zippers and open up your bags!" Mr. Hamilton's voice rose as he finished his sentence, and he laughed joyfully as a loud gasp echoed around the room.

"Aren't they wonderful? Aren't they the most beautiful creatures you ever saw?"

James took a step back away from the desk, bumping into Damon as he moved. "What _is_ that?" He shoved his trembling finger at the green body inside the bag, his stomach turning in circles as he stared into the creature's pale face. Damon pulled the zipper down farther, exposing the hard yellowish plates on the creatures chest and another set of darker green plates on it's back

"It's a turtle," Jonathan said, his voice in a fearful whisper. "It's a giant turtle."

"Where the heck did Mr. Hamilton get this?" Damon also spoke in a whisper as he eyed their teacher.

"Okay now, if everyone would take your scalpels, which I have already sanitized, and chose someone in your group to make the first cut!"

Alex immediately jumped backwards. "That's _not_ gonna be me!"

Damon also backed away. "Me neither!"

Jonathan narrowed his eyebrows and picked up the scalpel, not even waiting for a response from James. He placed himself right over the creature's head and tried to pay attention to his teacher's words, but he couldn't pull his eyes away from what was beneath him. He continued to stare at the creature's pale green face and his feeling of fear quickly escalated when he noticed a slight movement from under the bag.

"Guys! Did you see that?" Jonathan whispered to his friends, and they moved closer to the body. The creature jerked again, and the four boys jumped back.

"That thing's not dead!"James cried out, his body shivering in fear.

Jonathan rose his shaking hand into the air. "Uh, Mr.-Mr. Hamilton. Our, uh, specimen, it's-it's... still alive."

The creature stirred more and the boys froze in horror as it slowly opened it's eyes and blinked at the bright lights above.

"Where... where am I?"

"Quick!" Mr. Hamilton jerked Jonathan's hand into the air and forced the boy to move the scalpel over the creature's neck. "You must cut into the jugular vein before it becomes fully awake!"

Jonathan tried to pull his arm out of the teacher's powerful grasp, and he froze again as the creature looked directly into his eyes, their brown irises locking together.

"Hurry, Jon!" Damon shouted.

"I...I can't!" Jonathan turned his head away, but looked back as Mr. Hamilton growled impatiently. "I can't do it!"

"Do it! Now!"

Jonathan closed his eyes, feeling his heart rate escalate and the beating of the organ echoed in his ears. He opened his eyes, locking them with the creature once more as he moved the scalpel over the turtle's neck and rested his left palm over the bottom of the instrument to steady his shaking right hand. Jonathan then took a deep breath and braced himself, turning away from the silent plea in the creature's eyes as he propelled the scalpel down in one quick motion.


End file.
